"Color is an equalizing lens through which we experience our natural and digital realities, and this is particularly true for Living Coral," Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute, said in a statement. "With consumers craving human interaction and social connection, the humanizing and heartening qualities displayed by the convivial Pantone Living Coral hit a responsive chord."
According to Pantone, the engaging nature of living coral "welcomes" and "encourages" lighthearted activities, and its authenticity enables connection and intimacy.
Can a color be convivial? Laurie Pressman, the company's vice president, considers this saturated orange base with a golden undertone not only warm and welcoming but versatile and life-affirming. It energizes with a softer edge than, say, its pastel and neon color cousins.
"With everything that's going on today, we're looking for those humanizing qualities because we're seeing online life dehumanizing a lot of things," Pressman told The Associated Press ahead of Wednesday's annual color unveiling. "We're looking toward those colors that bring nourishment and the comfort and familiarity that make us feel good. It's not too heavy. We want to play. We want to be uplifted."
"In its glorious, yet unfortunately more elusive, display beneath the sea, this vivifying and effervescent color mesmerizes the eye and mind," Pantone said in the news release. "Lying at the center of our naturally vivid and chromatic ecosystem, Pantone Living Coral is evocative of how coral reefs provide shelter to a diverse kaleidoscope of color."
Living Coral is technically a “coral hue with a golden undertone”—a few shades louder than pink, but softer than red. Pantone acknowledges that their choice also highlights an environmental treasure under threat: “Living Coral is evocative of how coral reefs provide shelter to a diverse kaleidoscope of color.”
It has a soft feeling but it will not go unnoticed. It reminds us of tropical vacations, low-stress and beautiful weather. Therefore a perfect fit for our Starcove design approach.
At a time when bleaching due to climate change continues to rob actual coral reefs of their rainbows. It's a color that seems to work for everybody, across the gender spectrum in apparel and across segments, from art and housewares to home interiors and industrial design.
Living Coral is the kind of color that inspires us and it's not a color that we'll tire of quickly.