I love color. Whether it’s selecting hues for a client project, mixing colors for a painting, or soaking up the vivid palette that Mother Nature gifts us, experiencing color makes my heart sing. For this reason, I’m especially curious every year to discover which color will be crowned “Pantone® Color of the Year.” As 2021 approached I was especially vexed; would Pantone select a somber tone, reflective of the world’s current mood? Or would they choose a color that expressed hope and optimism for better days ahead? Well, if you’ve seen the announcement you know that Pantone selected two colors for 2021, and I think they perfectly express the duality of the moment. The pairing of Ultimate Gray and Illuminating (yellow) is serious and hopeful.
Pantone’s Color of the Year reflects color trends in fashion, beauty, design and home decor, but if you’re not in one of those industries, should you even care? Maybe. Using an on-trend color or two can instantly update your image, but must still work with your organization’s brand guidelines. If your company doesn’t yet have a palette of secondary brand colors, this may be the perfect time to develop one, and to consider including gray and/or yellow.
· Expand your palette to include a handful of secondary colors, and gain flexibility and freshness for communications. They add clarity to charts and graphs, and differentiation by color coding product lines or services.
· Your palette should include a mix of warm and cool, light and dark colors. It’s important to have tones that are legible for copy, that work against light and dark backgrounds, and that provide contrast.
· Include a neutral gray in your secondary color palette. Choose a warm or cool tone, to complement your main brand colors. Gray gives the eye a rest, is a great background color, and a softer alternative to black for applications where that’s too harsh.
· If you’re missing a bright, warm tone, a shade of yellow could work perfectly. It complements other bright shades, and can also add a vibrant punch to a subdued, monochromatic palette.