It’s now headline news when the Pantone Company announces its annual choice for “Color of the Year” in early December. Good Earth Plant Company works with color so much, the choice gets our attention, especially the reasoning and psychology behind it.
This bold pink-toned orange called “Living Coral’ is the 2019 Pantone Color of the Year.
This year’s choice for 2019 is an eye-popping pink-toned orange called “Living Coral.” It’s straight out of the natural world. Yes, it’s bold, but we love it. Here’s what Pantone’s executive director Leslie Eiseman said about the “vibrant yet mellow” choice.
“In reaction to the onslaught of digital technology and social media increasingly embedding into daily life, we are seeking authentic and immersive experiences that enable connection and intimacy. Sociable and spirited, the engaging nature of PANTONE 16-1546 Living Coral welcomes and encourages lighthearted activity. Symbolizing our innate need for optimism and joyful pursuits, PANTONE 16-1546 Living Coral embodies our desire for playful expression.
“Representing the fusion of modern life, PANTONE Living Coral is a nurturing color that appears in our natural surroundings and at the same time, displays a lively presence within social media.”
Once again the beauty of Nature inspired the Pantone Color of the Year Choice for 2019: Living Coral. Photo: Ed Bierman/Creative Commons
We couldn’t agree more! Have you noticed Pantone’s trend over the last few years?
The 2018 choice was a dramatic purple called “Ultra Violet.” Purple flowers in nature get the attention of pollinators. With the pollinator population in a dangerous decline, we love the attention to this problem through the Color of the Year.
The year before in 2017 was “Greenery.” Pantone describes it as a “cheery green shade” that evokes the first days of spring when nature and plants revive, restore, and renew. It’s the Good Earth Plant Company color of the year every year, so you know we loved it.
The members of Pantone’s color consulting unit who picked Living Coral are starting to get the important role of nature and our relationship as human beings to the natural world. A group of two-dozen color experts gather every year to predict what color will be prominent in the design world. This includes everything from fashion to films, from fine arts to the streets. Leatrice Eiseman also said in a 2014 interview the committee members also have to look at what’s happening in the bigger world around them to know what color to choose.
“The overriding influence [this year] was the environment,” explains Pantone vice president Laurie Pressman in a comment to Quartz Magazine. “Top of mind was the arresting beauty we see in nature and the importance of preserving the environment…Think of coral reefs, they provide shelter and sustenance to marine life and here we are watching them disappear.”
These chrysanthemums also display the 2019 Pantone Color of the Year.
This year’s color choice is the perfect contrast to the monotone color scheme many of us live inside every day. Look around you. What kind of colors do you see? Are in you in a gray office building? Are you anywhere near a window? Can you see any natural light? (If it’s nighttime for you right now, you get a pass). When is the last time you saw a gorgeous sunset with your own eyes?
Living Coral puts us into the warm light of the natural world, and humans need this kind of light to survive and thrive. We are messing with our circadian rhythms by too much exposure to artificial light with blue wavelengths, including artificial light and our screens, especially smartphones. In the evening, as natural levels of blue light drop and are replaced by dim red light, melatonin production helps us to fall asleep. Complete darkness is needed at night to initiate processes of cell renewal. But our increasing reliance on artificial lighting is changing those rhythms and not for the better.
Terra cotta pottery shares the same warm pink-orange tone as the 2019 Color of the Year. Photo: Avia Venefica/Creative Commons
Living Coral also reminds us of good old-fashioned terra cotta pottery. There isn’t anything more down to earth than a pot made from the clay of the earth.
Living Coral can easily be integrated into our hottest design trend for several years running: moss walls. Moss walls are versatile and open up all kinds of creative possibilities for our clients, bringing nature into workplaces and other structures where a traditional living wall wouldn’t flourish. One of the many reasons moss walls are all the rage and so popular among our installations is the ability to create designs in any color. So far, most of our clients have gone for mainly green walls with touches of contrasting color – how about a big splash of Living Coral?
We love incporating bold colors into moss walls for our clients. Photo: Lushome
I’d say the Pantone people are noticing our work at Good Earth Plants. They follow design trends after all! If you take a good look at our living walls featuring succulents, you’ll see some Living Coral tones. Our replica plant walls include contrasting natural colors like this, too. The possibilities for using Living Coral in our moss walls are mind-blowing!
Good Earth Plant Company stays ahead of color trends to provide our clients up to date interiorscaping design ideas. Color choices instantly communicate a lot about your business and your home. We can all tell when someone hasn’t updated their surroundings since the 1970s. Doesn’t it make you wonder whether their thinking process is just as out of date?
Pantone, we like this big bold choice! Good Earth Plant Company shares your enthusiasm and looks forward to using Living Coral as inspiration for our clients this year. So who’s going to be the first to include Living Coral in a new moss wall?
