Why The Buzz Around ‘Peach Fuzz’?
Q: Every year Pantone announces a new ‘Color of the Year’ Who is Pantone? How do they decide on a color? What does this mean for you and I?
A: The Pantone Color of the Year for 2024 is ‘Peach Fuzz’.
In short, it means that you will be seeing a lot of this color in paint and textiles. Which will influence fashions, products & interior design.
Pantone is...one of the first ‘influencers’ starting back in the 80s...
They decide on a color by committee and think about the things happening around the globe and the influence it could have globally.
2024 Color of the Year
A vintage Pantone color chip fan deck
But who are they? Who is Pantone?
Anytime you use color online, there is an exact code for that color and Pantone had something to do with that. They created a universal color chip so that the exact ‘red’ you see on the runways of Paris can be exact same ‘red’ in the backwaters of Arkansas or the exact ‘red’ in the frosty North Pole.
This standardization of colors and coding began in 1963 and revolutionized the printing industry to start with those color fans showcasing their PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM®.
In the mid 80s they started using their color influence to start make color forecasts and trends for fashion, fabrics & home interiors. However, it wasn’t until 1999 that they started the ‘Color of the Year’ to engage the design community and color enthusiasts around the world in conversations about color.
“We wanted to draw attention to the relationship between culture and color — to highlight to our audience how what is taking place in our global culture is expressed and reflected through the language of color.”
Pantone’s history through a visual timeline
So how does Pantone affect you or me?
Well, Pantone was basically one of the original ‘Influencers’ before influencing became a thing! They influence fashion, gaming, technology, interiors, hair and beauty, etc!
They also spend significant time on the name and how it will affect feelings (obviously in the English speaking world) and the message it sends. “This can include the entertainment industry and films in production, traveling art collections and new artists, fashion, all areas of design, aspirational travel destinations, new lifestyles, playstyles, or enjoyable escapes, as well as socio-economic conditions. Influences may also stem from new technologies, materials, textures, and effects that impact color, relevant social media platforms, and even upcoming sporting events that capture worldwide attention.”
They ‘say’ they are legit and are not biased by their industry or companies they work for, but honestly, how can anyone make that claim of no bias, even if it was a mere suggestion? I guess we’ll just have to trust them!
Nowadays they offer a Color Fan set, Plastic Chip Color sets, or Fabric Color Chip Set in Binders. These can be purchased directly from their website.
So how did they pick ‘Peach Fuzz’ as this years color?
“…at a time of turmoil in many aspects of our lives, our need for nurturing, empathy and compassion grows ever stronger as does our imaginings of a more peaceful future.It needed to be a color whose warm and welcoming embrace conveyed a message of compassion and empathy. One that was nurturing and whose cozy sensibility brought people together and elicited a feeling of tactility. One that reflected our feeling for days that seemed simpler but at the same time has been rephrased to display a more contemporary ambiance. One whose gentle lightness and airy presence lifts us into the future.”
I’m going to assume the recent Pandemic combined with the divisive & politically charged Middle East conflicts are the ‘turmoil’ and why they imagine a more “peaceful future”.
Summary:
What a job, eh? Spending a year, having “one long, continuously flowing conversation among a group of color-attuned people” to decide what the color of the year will be and why, and apparently the decision is always unanimous too!
If only the world could be like Pantone, taking their time and peacefully coming to a unanimous decision over a color that they will stamp as their choice to influence the world over!
Enjoy the calming aspect of Peach Fuzz for the next year, and keep your eye out to see where you find its influences!
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*All photos from Pantone Website
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