Pantone Announces Vibrant and Soothing ‘Living Coral’ as 2019 Color of the Year

It's that time of the year again. As anyone who loves color knows, for the past 20 years Pantone selects the “Color of the Year,” setting trends in fashion, product design, home furnishings, and interiors. With 2018 coming to an end, Pantone announced which hue takes top prize as 2019 Color of the Year, and it's a nostalgic throwback.

Living Coral is the Color of the Year for 2019. Pantone describes it as “an animating and life-affirming coral hue with a golden undertone that energizes and enlivens with a softer edge.” After 2018's bold Ultra-Violet and 2017's bright leafy green, Living Coral is a transition into a color that is at once vibrant and soothing. The color is sure to stand out in a crowd, providing a powerful pop that symbolizes our innate need for positivity.

Living Coral's versatility and its ability to complement all skin tones make it the perfect color for the beauty industry, while tech companies like Apple are already incorporating it into their products. The backsides of the new iPhone XR use the hue, which had already been selected by Pantone when Apple revealed their design. Perhaps it's the color's roots in 1950s and 1960s design and our nostalgia for simpler times that makes Living Coral the right choice for this moment in history.

It's a choice that is, in part, a reaction to the overwhelming digital technology and social media interaction that is ingrained into our daily lives. “Color is an equalizing lens through which we experience our natural and digital realities and this is particularly true for Living Coral,” shared Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute. “With consumers craving human interaction and social connection, the humanizing and heartening qualities displayed by the convivial Pantone Living Coral hit a responsive chord.”

Pantone's choice is also a reminder that some of the best colors come from nature. By honing in on the exquisite beauty of coral reefs, Pantone is also issuing a subtle reminder not to forget their fragility and the importance of their preservation. So, how will you be incorporating Living Coral into your life?

Living Coral is the Pantone Color of the Year 2019!

Living Coral - 2019 Pantone Color of the Year

Pantone: Website | Facebook | Instagram
h/t: [Pantone]

All images via Pantone.

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Jessica Stewart

Jessica Stewart is a Contributing Writer and Digital Media Specialist for My Modern Met, as well as a curator and art historian. Since 2020, she is also one of the co-hosts of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. She earned her MA in Renaissance Studies from University College London and now lives in Rome, Italy. She cultivated expertise in street art which led to the purchase of her photographic archive by the Treccani Italian Encyclopedia in 2014. When she’s not spending time with her three dogs, she also manages the studio of a successful street artist. In 2013, she authored the book 'Street Art Stories Roma' and most recently contributed to 'Crossroads: A Glimpse Into the Life of Alice Pasquini'. You can follow her adventures online at @romephotoblog.
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