HOW DID THE WORLD AUTHORITY OF
COLOUR BECOME A POP CULTURE ICON?
Well, Pantone is widely recognised in the design world as the colour authority. They look to art, consumer
products cars, technology, interior design, celebrities, and fashion to determine colour trends past and
present. Since 2000, the experienced colour gurus at the Pantone Color Institute designate the “colour of
the year” that sets the tone for the design industry. Their designation is the colour that they expect to be
seen everywhere in the year to come.
Twice a year the company hosts, in a European capital, a secret meeting of representatives from various
nations’ colour standards groups. After two days of presentations and debate, they choose a colour for the
following year; for example, in 2012, Pantone named Tangerine Tango the colour of the year, describing
its choice as a spirited reddish orange which will provide the energy boost we need to recharge and move
forward. This description speaks to a tumultuous economic time culturally, and the vibrancy we associate
with orange psychologically.
The results of the meeting are published in the PANTONE Fashion Colour Trend Report, and it is your
easily accessible guide to the season’s most important colour trends.
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