- The joint Ultimate Gray and Illuminating have been announced as the colours of 2021
- The colour combination is hoped to bring resilience and hope
- Pantone's colour of the year has been known to influence industry trends
After thoughtful consideration and trend analysis, colour experts from Pantone have for the first time announced not one, but two colours for 2021.
The joint colours Ultimate Gray and Illuminating will be the shades of the year. It is described as a union of “strength and positivity”.
Pantone’s colours of the year have been known to influence trends and purchasing decisions across industries.
“The union of an enduring Ultimate Gray with the vibrant yellow Illiminationg expresses a message of positivity supported by fortitude. Practical and rock solid but at the same time warming and optimistic, this is a color combination that gives us resilience and hope. We need to feel encouraged and uplifted; this is essential to the human spirit. ”
– Leatrice Eiseman the executive director of the Pantone Colour Institue
“It is a story of colour that encapsulates deeper feelings of thoughtfulness with the promise of something sunny and friendly.”
“Emboldening the spirit, the pairing … highlights our innate need to be seen, to be visible, to be recognized, to have our voices heard. A combination of colour whose ties to insight, innovation and intuition, and respect for wisdom, experience, and intelligence inspires regeneration, pressing us forward toward new ways of thinking and concepts.”
Colour experts “comb the world looking for new colour influences”. They look at areas such as films in production, new technologies, traveling art collections, fashion, all areas of design, social media, popular travel destinations, sporting events and socio-economic conditions.
The new colours have dethroned Classic Blue, which was the colour of 2020.