Pantone Colour of the Year 2019 is Living Coral!

Every year the colour experts at the Pantone Colour Institute comb the world to identify new colour influences. Their research spans industries, including motion picture and entertainment, art, fashion, all branches of design, travel, as well as lifestyles and playstyles. Influences may also stem from new technologies, materials, textures,  social media platforms and upcoming events that capture worldwide attention.

This December Pantone has chosen a shade of orange with a golden undertone inspired by coral reefs as Pantone Colour of the Year 2019. Succeeding year 2018’s Ultra Violet, Pantone 16-1546 Living Coral was taken from the Pantone Fashion, Home + Interiors Color System, the most widely used and recognized colour standards system for fashion, textile, home, and interior design.

Coral reefs are a source of sustenance and shelter to sea life. The warm-toned Living Coral is hoped to, in Pantone’s words, “embraces us with warmth and nourishment to provide comfort and buoyancy in our continually shifting environment.” Pantone posits that,  in reaction to the relentless pace of our increasingly digital life,  we are seeking authentic and immersive experiences that enable connection and intimacy. 

“Colour is an equalising lens through which we experience our natural and digital realities and this is particularly true for Living Coral,” said Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute. “With consumers craving human interaction and social connection, the humanizing and heartening qualities displayed by the convivial Pantone Living Coral hit a responsive chord.”

Glorious and effervescent, Living Coral is a mesmerising, if elusive, colour evocative of the coral that provides shelter to the kaleidoscope of colours under the sea. When used as a bold statement in settings and décor, Pantone suggests that Living Coral can foster immersive experiences and add an element of playfulness in pop-up installations and interactive spaces.

In celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the Pantone Color of the Year announcement, special collections of Pantone Formula Guides and Fashion, Home + Interiors Color Guides will be available for a limited time. Guides will feature commemorative Color of the Year covers, information on the 2019 selection and history of past Colors of the Year enclosed within the guide.

Pantone Color of the Year 2019 Formula Guides for graphic, print and packaging designers and Fashion, Home + Interiors Color Guides for fashion and product designers, are available in limited quantities from Pantone.com and through authorized distributors worldwide.