Pantone #ColorOfTheYear for 2018: Ultra Violet

8 Dec 2017

Last year the Pantone colour of the year was greenery, the year before was the Rose quartz and Serenity blend, and for 2018 it's a deep, dreamy shade - Ultra Violet. Here's what it stands for.

Pantone #ColorOfTheYear for 2018: Ultra Violet

Pantone is the global authority on colour, and at the end of each year artists, designers and stylists eagerly anticipate the shade set to feature simply everywhere in the coming months.

Welcome #Greenery, Pantone's 2017 colour of the year

9 Dec 2016

According to Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, 2018's Ultra Violet shade is meant to imbue qualities of “thoughtful originality, ingenuity, and visionary thinking,” as we step into the future.

The design-minded set have been sharing their views on social media:

The 2018 Color of the Year from @Pantone is Ultra Violet, but our textile and fashion curators point out that it’s very close to mauvine, the first synthetic dye discovered in 1856, found in this American dress from 1860! pic.twitter.com/FFq8cHDADh
— Museum of Fine Arts (@mfaboston) December 7, 2017

Ultra Violet lights the way to what is yet to come. Learn more about the 2018 @pantone Color of the Year via @adobestock: https://t.co/l34wsG7Qer pic.twitter.com/GShICw8w5a
— Adobe Illustrator (@Illustrator) December 8, 2017

�� And the 2018 @pantone Color of the Year is...Ultra Violet! �� We have a quite a few covers in this hue—Classics are *always* in style, you know �� Which one is your favorite? ��☂️☮️��

A post shared by Penguin Classics (@penguinclassics) on Dec 7, 2017 at 10:31am PST

While many are convinced the shade is in honour of deceased rocker Prince, who would have turned 60 in 2018, Pantone released a slightly different shade for him four months ago called Love Symbol #2:

The Internet is convinced Prince is the inspiration behind the 2018 Pantone Color of the Year https://t.co/6JFwZWngkV
— TIME (@TIME) December 7, 2017

Click here for more on how each year’s hue is selected, visit the official Pantone website for the Limited Edition Colour of the Year 2018 Formula Guide and Color Guide and click here to download the bronze Cannes Lions 2017-winning Pantone Studio for iOS.