Purple (erm...ultra violet) is the Pantone colour of the year

Pantone's 2018 Colour of the Year is ultra violet, which it describes as “provocative and thoughtful,” noting it “communicates originality, ingenuity, and visionary thinking that points us towards the future."

The annual unveiling of the COY is part-promotion, part conversation-starter. The formal name of the colour on the chip is 18-3838-Ultra-Violet .

”Ultra Violet is “multi-faceted,” says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute and author of numerous color books, including most recently The Complete Color Harmony, Pantone Edition. “It’s a little complicated, which we feel is one of [the color’s] appeals. It’s not easy, not chili pepper red and all hot and dancy.” It’s this complexity that Eiseman believes will attract designers to the color: “Designers invariably get purples,” she says. “You talk to people on the street, though, and they’re more skeptical. That’s why we think designers will like it: you do have to have a conversation about” Ultra Violet and its uses.

Future palettes to influence design and taste-making

For shelter and lifestyle publishers, editors and art directors out there, Pantone the colour experts have published a series of palettes that contain 72 forecasted colours which they say will inspire and influence home furnishings, design and other aspects of taste-making in 2015. According to a post on Dexigner, Pantone View Home + Interiors 2015 provides colour swatches and images for use in their work. The palettes go by names such as Style-Setting, Abstractions, Botanicum, Zensations, Urban Jungle, Tinted Medley, Past Traces, Serendipity and Spontaneity. (That's Style-Setting up there, ranging from Champagne Beige to Steel Gray; it is said to be all about poise, fitness and polish.)

Pantone handheld device lets designers capture any colour from any surface

Pantone, the acknowledged authority on colour, is offering graphic designers a new, compact, handheld device, that for only US$649 allows users to match colours from any surface, material or fabric, including open-weave textiles and small patterned colours. According to a  release and a story in DesignEdge Canada, 

CAPSURE^™ comes loaded with all of Pantone colour libraries, which includes more than 8,000 colours. Users can toggle across multiple Pantone Libraries and cross-match any material or surface. For an extra charge, users can also upload fan decks from popular paint manufacturers to match colours from their selections.

Escape into turquoise in 2010

Pantone, the acknowledged international standard-setter for colour, has announced that turquoise is its colour of the year for 2010, describing it as "an inviting, luminous hue".

“In many cultures, turquoise occupies a very special position in the world of color,” explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “It is believed to be a protective talisman, a color of deep compassion and healing, and a color of faith and truth, inspired by water and sky. Through years of color word-association studies, we also find that Turquoise represents an escape to many – taking them to a tropical paradise that is pleasant and inviting, even if only a fantasy.”

Does it feel like you've just come through a "cheery yellow" 2009? Mimosa (right) was picked last year. And the year before, it was a cool, deep blue called "Blue Iris", coming off a 2007 when the colour was a "hot red".