32 | FEBRUARY 4 • 2021
M
ost of us have been
happy to say “so long” to
2020. Close to a year of
a global pandemic has had an effect
on almost everyone — and almost
everything — including the world
of design.
Pantone is best-known in the
fashion, beauty, graphic design and
home design industries for its color-
matching system — and the Pantone
Color Institute has provided color
reports and forecasts since 1962 (the
year of Cerulean Blue).
The recently revealed Pantone
Color of the Year for 2021 is a direct
reaction to the mood of 2020 and a
hopeful look forward to 2021. And
for the second time in its history,
the color is actually two colors.
“Ultimate Gray” reflects on 2020 as
a year — while also bringing a sense
of comfort — and “Illuminating”
is full of hope and positivity for the
future.
“It is a pairing of two independent
colors that come together to create
an aspirational color pairing
conjoining deeper feelings of
thoughtfulness with the optimistic
promise of a sunshine-filled day,
”
according to the institute.
“The selection of two
independent colors highlight how
different elements come together to
express a message of strength and
hopefulness that is both enduring
and uplifting, conveying the idea
that it’s not about one color or one
person — it’s about more than
one. The union of an enduring
Ultimate Gray with the vibrant
yellow Illuminating expresses a
message of positivity supported by
fortitude,
” says Leatrice Eiseman,
executive director of the Pantone
Color Institute. “Practical and rock
solid but at the same time warming
and optimistic, this is a color
combination that gives us resilience
and hope.
”
Amy Miller Weinstein, owner
of AMW Design Studio in
Birmingham, agrees that the shades
have an emotional impact.
“For me, the 2021 Pantone Colors
of the Year evoke a ’60s vibe,
” she
says. “With the world in such
upheaval, it feels synchronistic to
be drawing on emotions that were
so much a part of that era — and
pursuing a hopefulness that in
our differences, we can find our
connections.
”
In a children’s lounge space in a
client’s home, Weinstein anchored
the room in tones of soft, soothing
gray — brushed metals, cloudy
cabinetry and ashy-finished flooring
— but contrasts with a pop of
lemony yellow in the form of a sink-
In Ultimate Gray and Illuminating,
Pantone’s new dual colors of the year
break free from a pandemic state of mind.
LYNNE KONSTANTIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Color Combo
ARTS&LIFE
AT HOME
A children’s lounge space
designed by Amy Miller
Weinstein pops with
illuminating yellow.
BETH SINGER