Pantone’s 2023 Colour of the Year: Viva Magenta
Guest Post by Julie Brown-Hallman
Welcome to the Magentaverse. Gotta love the cheeky name Pantone has given to this year’s palette. It’s led by Viva Magenta, Colour of the Year.
Let’s rewind for a moment to recall the past two years’ colours. 2021’s Ultimate Gray and Illuminating were too optimistic (in hindsight). 2022’s Veri Peri had careful hopefulness. Now we’ve got a colour that we can all get behind – exciting, energetic, bold and ready to move on.
It’s not the bright pink-ish colour you might picture when I say ‘magenta’ (or at least what’s used in CMYK designs). I find it a fascinating, beautiful, deep shade of red. Long live this magenta. It “…vibrates with vim and vigor. It is a shade rooted in nature descending from the red family and expressive of a new signal of strength. Viva Magenta is brave and fearless, and a pulsating color whose exuberance promotes a joyous and optimistic celebration, writing a new narrative”. (Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute).
I couldn’t agree more.
Seeing it in action on the Pantone website sends my designer brain into overdrive. It looks amazing in photos – imagine it in videos, digital animations and as a brand colour for logos.
I say join the Magentaverse. Start using this year’s colour in your communications.
