Steal this strategy: lessons from Pantone’s Color of the Year
- Deena Englard
- Jul 27
- 4 min read
Creative Market just announced their Color of the Season - Piña Colada.
Which got me thinking, how come there are so many different “colors of the year/season”? Where did they even come up with such a thing?
So I did some deep diving and research into the topic to understand where it comes from, how it works, and what we can learn from it.
Where the Color of the Year comes from
Color is a universal language that crosses barriers and cultures. It unifies people across the world in a way that other mediums and design elements can’t.
Pantone created the Color of the Year in 2000 as a way to bridge the gap between cultures and countries, to unify everyone around the world around a single color that reflects the global cultural zeitgeist.
To choose the color, Pantone analyzes trends across all industries from fashion to travel, lifestyle, entertainment, social media trends, sporting events, and even socio-economic conditions in an attempt to capture the global mood in a single color.
The Pantone Color Institute has a team of members, or color anthropologists, around the world who are engaged in color discussions all year long, seeing the world through the lens of color. They use both color psychology and trends to arrive at a color family that reflects the global emotional zeitgeist, and then drill down to the exact color, sometimes even creating a brand new one to reflect what they’re seeing in the world.
It tells a story of the collective mood around the world - capturing imaginations and resonating with so many people.
In a self-fulfilling prophecy, although it’s meant to reflect current trends, once a Color of the Year is announced, usage of it increases, creating future trends as well.
But it still publicizes an important design note to all product developers - that color plays a big role in consumer behavior. It’s an important element in design from a psychological perspective and its ability to impact consumer behavior. As they state on their website, “color influences up to 85% of consumer buying decisions.” Adobe also points out that “One in two consumers have chosen one brand over another based on color alone.”
It brings home a powerful message: color psychology is a powerful tool in design.
Color Trends
Some people speculate that Pantone pulls their color out of a hat at random.
However, if you look at color trend reports from other industries, you’ll see strong common threads and similarities across the board.
Design Industry: Creative Market
Fashion Industry: Vogue
Interior Design: Benjamin Moore
Graphic Design: Adobe
Unsurprisingly, Adobe predicts AI/tech and earthy-tones as being massively on the rise in 2025.
The Marketing Side
There is a brilliant marketing angle to this as well.
Positioning
By picking a Color of the Year, Pantone positions themselves as the global authority on color. Need a color? Think Pantone. They’ve effectively cut off any competition in the color industry and keep themselves top of mind with yearly reminders.
Brand Collaborations
It also opens them up to brand collaborations. By creating a global audience for themselves, they start to look very enticing for other brands to ride their wave.
And since color is something used in every industry, especially physical products, the possibilities are endless:
Phones with Motorola
Furniture with Joybird
Headphones with Libratone
Makeup with Ipsy
Web design elements with Wix
How can you apply it?
There’s a concept in The Dip, a book I recently read:
“Be the best in the world at what you do.”
If your world is too big, then shrink your world. If there are too many fish in your ocean, then go to a smaller lake.
Pantone made themselves into the global authority on color. The best in the world at universal color across all mediums.
Think about it - how can you become the best in your world?
If you’re a web designer, it’ll be hard to be the best web designer in even the frum market. But what if you were the best at building custom forms? Or the best at interactive elements? Or creative About page headshots?
Create your own branded, named category that you “own” just like Color of the Year, but for your niche. Something that you alone will be known as the best in the world for.
Own your corner of the market.
Getting perspective on your own strengths and marketing can be difficult on your own.
Talking it over with a design coach can help you clarify and prioritize your goals and create an action plan that's customized specially for you, along with the push, confidence, and support you need to finally follow through with achieving your goals.
Reach out here to book a 1:1 consult and start changing the world with your unique potential.
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