Pantone’s Color of the Year is historically not only a forecast for the year to come, but a reflection of the times we are already in. (Art imitating life and so on…) This year is no different.
It’s no coincidence that the colors selected are stereotypically male (blue) and female (pink). It is fitting that Pantone would decide to break convention and name a combination of two shades as one Color of the Year. We are in a time where the rules are being redefined, particularly if you look at how our society is shifting to become more gender-neutral, or even genderless. People are asking the questions: What is male? What is female? Can one become the other? Do both exist in one? Pantone’s Color of the Year is an obvious reflection of this blurring or erasure of expected gender boundaries.
Does this indicate a collective shift? Does this say something about our changing society? Of course it does. Pantone’s own announcement recognizes, “In many parts of the world we are experiencing a gender blur as it relates to fashion…This more unilateral approach to color is coinciding with societal movements toward gender equality and fluidity.”
Whatever significance that has will differ from person to person, but the fact is, this is our society, and Pantone is reflecting it.
In an interview with Glamour last year, Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, pointed out the obvious, that “psychology…[is] a very important part of color.” Colors make us feel a certain way, act a certain way. Color can communicate moods and evoke emotions without even trying. So how will Pantone’s color choices affect us psychologically? Can it make us all a bit happier? Is our society at large in need of the tranquility and peace that is reminiscent of these soft muted shades?
We are right now in a season of transformation and turmoil. With a news cycle filled with terrorists and shootings, strife and injustices, is it any wonder that we desire a bit of tranquility?
Laurie Pressman, vice president of Pantone Color Institute, confirms this in a statement about their color selection for 2016. “Our lives are stressful, and what we’re seeing is consumers trying to cut out that noise by balancing the fast pace, their fractured lives, their hurried lives, with some downtime and some calm, and the opportunity to just switch off.”
Perhaps, if we’re all outfitted in light pinks, and sit in rooms accessorized with muted blue pillows, and cook with kitchen appliances in shades of dusty rose, perhaps we will feel calmer, at peace. Perhaps. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?
Here’s hoping for 2016 to be a year of serenity. Hey, if baby blue can bring about world peace, I’m all for it.
What role does psychology play in design? A big one. You don’t have to be a student of Freud to understand how basic psychological principles, when applied to design, can have a measurable impact.
Here’s something to consider…if a tree falls in the forest and nobody is there to see it, did it have a color? There’s no denying that color is all around us, but how we perceive it is all in the eye of the beholder.
“I just need something simple.” I can’t tell you how often I hear these words when people approach me about a project. Some of these people are using “simple” as code for “inexpensive”. However, other people are using “simple” to describe the desired function and experience. Huge difference; and here’s why that matters.
