Something bright, something boring: Pantone chooses 2 colors for 2021

If everything that has happened and continues to happen in 2020, a year in which most of us think of a “new beginning”, in a “clear vision”, is an indication, we already know that we know nothing. Who would have thought that 2020 would be a year of chaos, one bad news after another, days seemingly blurred into one another, a year marked by a global health crisis?

Also, who could have imagined that it would be a year where blue surgical masks and blue scrubs would become ubiquitous? Oh right, Pantone did. However, when the trend forecaster chose Classic Blue as the color of the year for 2020, it was intended to instill “calm, confidence and connection,” or the three things we don’t have right now. A year that was predicted to be quiet has been filled with stress and anxiety, trust is overtaken by insecurity, and connection has been bogged down by disconnection and separation. Although it can be argued that this year we made a different type of connection, perhaps with those close to us since we isolate ourselves from the rest of the world, or the one we have with ourselves). For 2021, the Pantone Color Institute chose two contrasting but complementary colors, the second time it selected two in its 22-year history (the first was Rose Quartz and Serenity for 2016).

The colors of the year 2021, Ultimate Gray (a mid-tone gray) and Illuminating (a bright, saturated yellow) seem to encapsulate the overall 2020 theme: boring but fueled by hope. But Pantone, whose forecasting influences product development and fashion, home and industrial design decision, wants to send a message of “happiness backed by strength.”

The pair, Pantone said, also “highlights our innate need to be seen, to be visible, to be recognized, to have our voices heard.” Neutral gray, which meteorologists likened to “the colors of beach pebbles and natural elements whose weathered appearance highlights the ability to withstand the test of time,” is a reliable shade that “quietly secures” and encourages composure, stability and resilience, or the three things necessary to survive this year and move on to the next. Just as a hint of yellow in the gray-flooded interior adds dimension and life to the whole place, Illuminating aims to be the spark of hope in the mix.

“The union of a long-lasting ultimate gray with vibrant Illuminating Yellow conveys a message of positivity backed by strength,” explained Leatrice Eiseman, CEO of Pantone Color Institute. Eiseman added: “Practical and rock solid, but at the same time warm and upbeat, this is a color combination that gives us strength and hope. We need to feel encouraged and encouraged; this is essential to the human spirit. “Gray and yellow, like the light at the end of this dark tunnel that we all wish to see next year.