The 2018 Color of the Year depends on who you ask. Many people – both professionals and consumers—rely on Pantone Color Institute to set the standard, but they aren’t the only ones issuing predictions. Color trends impact a variety of industries, from home décor and interior design to fashion to automotive, and many of those manufacturers announce their colors of the year as well.
The color trend identification process often takes the better part of a year, and explores color usage across industries worldwide, assessing recurring patterns or colors from everyday life situations. Teams of industry analysts look for commonalities, while also taking into account color psychology of societal trends.
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While the Pantone 2018 Color of the Year has not yet been announced, we have compiled some announcements of the 2018 Color of the Year from different sources.
- According to Home Accents Today, Pantone Color Institute has unveiled eight color groupings in their 2018 Pantone View Home + Interiors palettes:
- Verdure features “vegetal” colors that symbolize health, such as Celery and an eggshell blue
- Resourceful combines warm and cool tones, like oranges and blues
- Playful: out-of-the-ordinary, quirky, and whimsical colors with names like Minion Yellow and Green Flash
- Discretion: low-key, subtle, and nostalgic colors including Burnished Lilac and Hawthorne Rose
- Far-fetched embraces multi-cultural influences with colors like Iced Coffee and Rooibos Tea
- Intricacy incorporates a sense of drama via metallic, plus colors like Holly Berry Red and yellow Sulfur
- Intensity mixes eclectic colors of power, strength, and depth with shades of plum, blue and orange
- TECH-nique gives a nod to ubiquitous technology in today’s society with vibrant color along the lines of vibrant blue, fuchsia and iridescent peacock tones
- Behr Paints recently announced that their 2018 Color of the Year is In the Moment, a cool spruce blue inspired by nature.
- They also curated a coordinating palette of 20 trend colors, including Soft Focus, Kombucha, Wide Sky, and Constellation Blue
- Via House Beautiful, black appears to be the new black.
- PPG Paints has named Black Flame its color of choice – an “unprecedented, statement-making black with deep tones of indigo.”
- Likewise, Glidden Paint has selected Deep Onyx, which is more slate shade of black.
- Olympic Paints and Stains claims Black Magic “brings an airy and soft space to Earth.”
- House Beautiful also notes that Sherwin Williams has chosen the bold green-blue Oceanside, alongside these bright palettes:
- Affinity (blue, fuchsia and brown)
- Connectivity (blue, green and high-def yellow)
- Sincerity (neutrals, green and pink)
- Benjamin Moore’s 2018 Color of the Year, Caliente, is a strong, radiant red. The coordinating palette features neutrals like Stone, Smoked Oyster, Saddle Soap, and Moonshine
- In addition to their architectural color predictions, PPG also introduced four color-trend story palettes for the automotive industry.
- Hyper HD: a mix of dazzling bright hues with the layered effects of tinted clears and tri-coats.
- IM Perfect: a more organic palette with somewhat subdued hues such as foliage greens as well as copper and brass metal tones.
- Knight’s Watch offers dark, dramatic jewel tones and blackened metal shades.
- Lucid Dreams: pastel tones with slightly more color in metallic whites, mint greens, anodized gold/beige tones and sky blues.
- BASF also released their automotive color trends for 2017-18. Their 65-color collection is called Translucid, and the key North American color is Undercurrent Blue, a dark navy that represents trust and loyalty.
How do you use color trend predictions in your work? Share with the Prospector community with a comment below!
References:
- Houzz: World of Design: Where Color Trends Begin
- New York Times: Color of 2017? Pantone Picks a Spring Shade
- Home Accents Today: Pantone reveals 2018 color trends for interiors
- PANTONEVIEW Home + Interiors 2018
- Behr: 2018 Color Trends
- House Beautiful: The First 2018 Color Predictions Are Here and They're Super Bold
- House Beautiful: Sherwin-Williams' 2018 Color of the Year Is Finally Here — And It Doesn't Disappoint
- Sherwin-Williams Color of the Year press release
- PPG Paints: Announcing the 2018 Color of the Year
- BASF Automotive Color Trends 2017-18: Undercurrent Blue [PDF]
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