Brave and fearless:
Pantone’s 2023 colour of the year
“Rooted in the primordial, PANTONE 18-1750 Viva Magenta reconnects us to original matter. Invoking the forces of nature, it galvanises our spirit, helping us to build our inner strength.”
Each year the high court of colour, The Pantone Color Institute, announces a colour that defines the incoming year. The colour is chosen based on trend-forecasting research but is also heavily influenced by what is taking place around the world, from arts, cinema, fashion to social and demographic changes and political and global events.
The Color of the Year for 2023 is 18-1750 Viva Magenta, a brand-new colour "brave and fearless, whose exuberance promotes a joyous and optimistic celebration". This colour falls under the red family and is inspired by the tone of cochineal extract, one of the most precious dyes historically used to colour textiles, cosmetics, and food.
“In this age of technology, we look to draw inspiration from nature and what is real. PANTONE 18-1750 Viva Magenta descends from the red family, and is inspired by the red of cochineal, one of the most precious dyes belonging to the natural dye family as well as one of the strongest and brightest the world has known.”
At Katanya we love colour and the impact - when well used - it can have on our lives. We draw inspiration from it. Last year our forecast for the 2023 colour of the year was “darker oranges, tans and perhaps even a bordeaux”.
Viva Magenta is the most intense colour of the year of recent years and, as all reds, is a power colour that celebrates life. Pantone notes that after living in a “pandemic and now facing a war and an unstable economy, social unrest, supply chain breakdowns, and mounting climate change, we need to heal”. And still, we need to find the motivation to continue. Here, Viva Magenta brings both grace and power while representing the enthusiasm we have strived for. In a way, we’re seeing this shift in our clients' projects: iterative redesigns, more granular content, more personalisation and customer journeys..
Tools for designers
Pantone also shares tools for designers. Viva Magenta is inclusive. There’s no limit to where it can be used. Even if it’s not part of your brand colours, maybe it will influence your imagery, events or to be venture out further and be a little bolder in 2023.
Source: Pantone
Viva magenta can add bold pops of colour. It can be a statement piece. Or create an immersive space that delineates that experience from the everyday.
How is Pantone’s colour of the year chosen?
Pantone normally hosts top secret colour meetings twice a year in a colourless room so that nothing influences their choice. Did that happen in 2022? We’re not sure yet. A congregation of designers and creatives from all over the world pitch and debate which colours suit the current world climate -- perhaps on colour-calibrated screens with neutral backgrounds in Zoom.
Once sealed away, colours are rigorously analysed against everything that is appearing across the world. The committee combs all surrounding environments and ventures into multiple industries to identify colour trends. This can include the entertainment industry, modern art, fashion, technology, design, travel, environment and socio-economic conditions. The team then takes photos of what they see, what is being used ubiquitously and starts finding patterns, themes and trends. Eventually, a colour is chosen which represents the zeitgeist.
A brief history of Pantone’s colour of the year 2000-2023
Beginning in 2000, Pantone’s colour of the year has become the ultimate source of truth for designers and creatives alike. Take a look below at all the previous winners:
Unconventional for an unconventional time
Is now the time for rebellious experimentation, for renewal and being bold? Is it time to challenge our work-from-home routines and venture off the beaten track to admire the larger world.
Photo by John De Leon
Pantone's Color Institute has been selecting the colour of the year for over 21 years. They have generally been ‘bang on’ year after year, picking colours that have defined and influenced the spaces we live and work, the clothes we wear and products we use. The Pantone Colour of the Year is not to be overlooked.
Last year we asked about 2022 would bring and we noted it will bring “economy and personal challenges” along with a “reemergence of the arts and travel”. What’s ahead for 2023? Will it be glitz and glamour or beige? Or will it be the year that climate, hope and green return?
“The Katanya team are design and technology enthusiasts who have translated designs from some of the world’s best agencies — from Huge to R/GA and SapientNitro and Interbrand to Wolff Olins — into digital visual identities and brought them into life online. If a design refresh or roll-out or migration to a new design is on the cards for 2022 we’d love to hear from you.”