Colours of the Year Ultimate gray and illuminating by: Karin melberg schwier Pantone, the ‘global authority and provider of professional color language standards and digital solutions for the design community,’ has been choosing the “it” colour of the year that influences all manner of industries for over two decades. This year, for only the second time in its
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22-year history, two colours are taking centre stage. The self-explanatory Ultimate Gray and Illuminating, a vibrant yellow, step forward as an expression of positive optimism grounded in stability. Fortitude and Hope According to Pantone, its selections PANTONE 17-5104
Photos: pantone color institute
Ultimate Gray and PANTONE 13-0647 Illuminating, were paired to create “a marriage of color conveying a message of strength and hopefulness that is both enduring and uplifting.” Rather than a “harmonious blend” like the only other duo Pantone has ever selected—the 2016 choice of Rose Quartz and
Serenity—this year’s choice are independent shades that can make it on their own while complementing one another. It’s also a first in that Ultimate Gray is an achromatic shade (a colour without colour, if that makes it clear.) In Sa s k a t ch e wa n where wheat and canola
