I’m always interested in Pantone’s Color of the Year selections, though I don’t recall being wildly enthusiastic about any of them. Usually I just shrug. This year’s selection, Mocha Mousse, at least looks tasty. But I won’t venture to guess how widely used or loved a shade of brown will be.
You can hop over to the Pantone website and see some of the ways they imagine using it. Clothes, phone cases, upholstery, room decor, mugs, etc. Lots of brand name product placement.
Certainly the color’s appearance in edible things is expected (although I doubt you’ll find any recipe calling for “PMS 17-1230 Mocha Mousse”). Who doesn’t love some chocolaty goodness? On the other hand, I rarely like or wear brown clothing — except for the luxurious natural browns of genuine leather.
I won’t go into the florid prose that usually fills Pantone’s announcements. You can go read it for yourself if you’re interested. Example:
Pantone selects a colour each year that captures the global zeitgeist—the Color of the Year express a global mood and an attitude, reflecting collective desire in the form of a single, distinct hue.
(Not only grandiose but with an error.)
The spelling “colour” appears frequently, making me wonder if it is an attempt to create a more sophisticated look for an American company or if they have a British copywriter on staff. Whatever the reason, I cringe at the mixed spellings. (Once an editor, always an editor.)
Interesting that the color reflecting global mood and attitude is that of pale diarrhea. In a way, they kind of nailed it, and all that’s missing is the proverbial fan. I’ll studiously avoid using it.
I assume the two spelling of ‘colo(u)r’ reflect daily usage versus the title for the event.
Regardless, I agree that for a company based in New Jersey, using the British spelling is just giving themselves airs.
That was my thought too, that the color is indeed a reflection of the current global mood.
Pantone has been the gold standard in color for as long as I can remember. It’s the way companies, teams, publications, etc. standardize their colors across all media. You specify PMS colors anywhere in the world and you’ll get the precise color /shade every time. It’s genius, really. And indispensable. I just wish they’d knock off the pretense of “colour.” The general public doesn’t know they exist and customers won’t care — except for the few that abhor pretense and inconsistency.
i’m fascinated by colors andi also love seeing pantone’s color of the year, and this one, well, beige is the new black in fashion they say. maybe the brown family of colors are having their day. i do like the bronze-ish tone to it though. funny about the spelling other than maybe they are considering themselves a global company and it sounds a bit more arty
I’ve been in love with colors since my first box of Prang watercolors before kindergarten. And the magical names when I got into oils and acrylics. And have you ever seen a book of Pantone color chips? I kept one when I retired, just because.
I don’t care for this particular shade (Mocha Mousse) but when it gets into the chocolate tones … yummers. The spelling thing bothers me mostly because of the inconsistency. It really hurts the editor in me. They should have just stayed with the the company spelling — Pantone Color Systems. IMHO.
I was always in love with the big box of crayola names and that was the beginning for me. Paint swatch colors fascinate me. I’m endlessly looking at them when I’m at a paint store. I love the Pantone colors. You’re so lucky you have a book. Also more recently nail polish colors have become very creative. When I bought my new car, it was listed as.’Plasma Yellow Pearl,’ as the official Subaru color. What a horrifying name in what focus group did they use to come up with that name everything about it is awful. I did some color research and came up with my own name for it, Matcha. It perfectly matches the color of a freshly brewed cup of Matcha tea.🍵
A Subie. Great choice. Don’t recall ever seeing a yellow Subie. Matcha is a great name. Shows some imagination and caring. I have a Forester, 2011, Satin White Pearl. Not very imaginative, but accurate. I’d forgotten the crayons. 64 (?) in the box. All those colors and names. Those boxes were little treasure chests. Nail polish has gone wild. Mauves, pinks, reds were once the mainstays. I rarely wore it. Too much maintenance.
it’s really a green to my eye, but some see yellow, so that’s kind of cool, but just such a horrible name they gave it. yours is at least a positive image
Your least favourite PCOTY has been, in the time I’ve caught up with you again, Colorado, the magenta. Reason ? – not that you’re passionately anti-magenta; but that it simply wasn’t magenta ! 😀
I agree. Pantone’s so-called “magenta” that year was a failure, IMHO.