#CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA--COLOR OF THE YEAR

Every year I do a post on the Color of the Year. The Color of the Year is a forecast of global color trends provided by the Pantone Color Institute, a consulting service that advises global companies in their efforts to develop products and create brand identity by leveraging the power, psychology, and emotional impact of color.

Color can inspire and influence. It can convey deep messages and various meanings—both subliminal and overt.

This year the Institute has chosen Ultra Violet as the Color of the Year. Purple has been a symbolic color throughout history. It’s associated with everything from royalty to Western pop culture. Think Prince. But the color has also been associated with non-conformity and mindfulness practices. Meditation spaces, for example, often suffuse the room with purple-toned lighting to aid their practitioners.

On their website Pantone states, “Complex and contemplative, Ultra Violet suggests the mysteries of the cosmos, the intrigue of what lies ahead, and the discoveries beyond where we are now. The vast and limitless night sky is symbolic of what is possible and continues to inspire the desire to pursue a world beyond our own.”

Throughout the year we should see more Ultra Violet in decorating trends, clothing, appliances, and automobiles as manufacturers release new lines. Maybe consumers won’t be swapping out their stainless steel refrigerators for purple ones, but we’ll probably see Ultra Violet featured in small appliances such as Keurig coffee makers and Kitchen Aid mixers. I also have no doubt we’ll see the color cropping up in linens, accent pillows, and wallpaper.

Everything has been about gray in decorating the last few years, but there are many shades of gray—from charcoal to blue-grays to green-grays and many more. We should probably see an abundance of violet grays in the near future.

In choosing Ultra Violet as the Color of the Year, Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute stated, “The Pantone Color of the Year has come to mean so much more than ‘what’s trending’ in the world of design; it’s truly a reflection of what’s needed in our world today.”

Perhaps she’s suggesting we all need more calm in our lives? I could certainly use more calm in my life. I’m now seriously considering investing in a few gallons of latex and painting my walls Ultra Violet.