History of Pantone Color of the Year

It’s time to welcome Pantone’s Color of the Year for 2022: Very Peri! The purple-hued periwinkle blue “displaying a carefree confidence and a daring curiosity that animates our creative spirit” and “helps us to embrace this altered landscape of possibilities, opening us up to a new vision as we rewrite our lives,” according to Pantone’s official announcement.

Pantone has been highlighting a Color of the Year since 2000, when it featured “Cerulean,” a soft blue. Since then, every year has seen the spotlighting of a different color meant to capture the trends and emotions of the upcoming year. Each year’s color has been accompanied by a brief explanation of what its significance is and why it has been chosen for that particular year. 2012’s “Tangerine Tango,” for instance, was a vivid red-orange meant to energize us, while 2017’s “Greenery” was chosen to evoke the desire of people to temporarily disconnect from technology and unwind closer to nature.

The anticipation around the annual Color of the Year announcement is further proof that color and art really do have a major impact on how we feel about the world around us. Whether in print or online, in static images or multimedia, color evokes complicated emotions and can reflect what we’re thinking and feeling. Keeping that in mind is important for anyone looking to utilize color in marketing, art, and more.