Pantone 17-5104 Ultimate Gray and 13-0647 Illuminating - if those names and numbers hold any significance to you, that means you are up to date on Pantone’s Colour of the Year for 2021.
Every year in December Pantone, a company who created a universal language around colour, announces their Colour of the Year. A tradition for over 20 years, this influences design decisions in colour conscious industries such as textiles, apparel, beauty, interiors and architectural and industrial design.
This year, the Ultimate Gray and Illuminating combination highlights how elements can come together to support one another while sending a message of strength and possibility. The grey is natural, assuring, thoughtful and reliable while the yellow is cheery, friendly and full of promise.
This message encompasses hopefulness which is rather fitting given the pandemic year we’ve all been faced with. It can also represent the approaching days of Spring: the reflection of new beginnings, progress and a blossoming of sorts with the image of earth slowly emerging and coming back to life again after a winter slumber (us humans are feeling that too, right?). This combination can inspire to move ahead with new possibilities.
As stated from Pantone: “as people look for ways to fortify themselves with energy, clarity, and hope to overcome the continuing uncertainty, spirited and emboldening shades satisfy our quest for vitality”.
Because we’ve all been spending A LOT more time indoors this year, it has become increasingly apparent that the quality of our environment plays an essential part in our physical and mental health. Perhaps it has put a new perspective on how space is used and provided ample time to plan on how to make new improvements to either home or office space. To start, by bringing these colours in as simple accents, it can reinvigorate a room without investing too much time or money. After all, colour is the easiest way to transform a space.
But really, the Colour of the Year isn’t meant to be taken as gospel or even a prediction, it is meant as an aspiration.
If you’re a small business owner, these colours could embellish your connection to nature and inspire you to take steps to bring more room and more light into your working quarters. This idea can provide momentum in bringing more natural elements into the space, address concerns of sustainability or allow you to focus on better energy efficiency. These health conscious ideas are no longer niche and can be applied to any space.
If you’re a homeowner, eco-friendly design principles can help reimagine your home and breath new life into a space you’ve gotten to know extremely well over the last year. Or maybe you’re taking the plunge into the HOT real estate market right now where these ideas could help transform a house with potential into the home of your dreams.
Whichever situation you find yourself in, there are many options for home or tenant improvements that allow the safety, security and wellness that has become increasingly important throughout this pandemic. This colour combination for 2021 is just a springboard for inspiration and to quote Pantone, “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”.