Pantone has announced the colour of the year for 2020 is Classic Blue – so get ready to see a lot of blue in the year ahead.
Frankly, this isn’t a massive shock.
Blue has been a popular pick for Pantone for a while, with Serenity sharing the stage with Rose Quartz in 2016, Blue Iris taking the title in 2008, and Blue Turquoise reigning supreme in 2005.
This year’s blue isn’t light and airy, however. Instead, it’s Classic Blue, a more strong and stable shade chosen to provide a ‘dependable foundation’ for these anxiety-ridden times.
It’s the colour of the sky at dusk and blueberries, that works just as well on an item of clothing as it does on an accent wall in your kitchen.
This isn’t a blue that’s flimsy or weak. It’s strong and simple. A sort of reliable neutral rather than a blue that says anything too shocking about its wearer.
Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, says: ‘We are living in a time that requires trust and faith. It is this kind of constancy and confidence that is expressed by Pantone 19-405 Classic Blue, a solid and dependable blue hue we can always rely on.’
So basically, in a time when politicians make stuff up, trust in the establishment is low, f***bois are rife and you can’t rely on anyone, Classic Blue is there for you.
Is Classic Blue the dependable father figure you never had? Maybe. But perhaps discuss this further with your therapist.
It also makes a great nail polish shade.
Leatrice adds that as well as being dependable, Classic Blue is also the deep thinking type: ‘A boundless blue evocative of the vast and infinite evening sky, Classic Blue encourages us to look beyond the obvious to expand our thinking; challenging us to think more deeply, increase our perspective and open the flow of communication’.
Pantone also reckons that surrounding yourself with Classic Blue in 2020 will bring a sense of ‘peace and tranquility’ while also ‘aiding concentration and bringing laser like clarity’.
They describe the colour as ‘honest’, ‘non-aggressive’, and protective.
All that for a colour that’s likely to be dismissed by fools as navy.
Don’t worry if you’re not quite ready to embrace this ‘universal favourite’ just yet. Remember that Classic Blue is the colour of 2020, so we still have a few weeks to remain in the chaos of 2019 and hang out in this year’s ‘playful’ colour, Living Coral.
All the previous colours of the year:
- PANTONE 16-1546 Living Coral (2019)
- PANTONE 18-3838 Ultra Violet (2018)
- PANTONE 15-0343 Greenery (2017)
- PANTONE 15-3919 Serenity and PANTONE 13-1520 Rose Quartz (2016)
- PANTONE 18-1438 Marsala (2015)
- PANTONE 18-3224 Radiant Orchid (2014)
- PANTONE 17-5641 Emerald (2013)
- PANTONE 17-1463 Tangerine Tango (2012)
- PANTONE 18-2120 Honeysuckle (2011)
- PANTONE 15-5519 Turquoise (2010)
- PANTONE 14-0848 Mimosa (2009)
- PANTONE 18-3943 Blue Iris (2008)
- PANTONE 19-1557 Chili Pepper (2007)
- PANTONE 13-1106 Sand Dollar (2006)
- PANTONE 15-5217 Blue Turquoise (2005)
- PANTONE 17-1456 Tigerlily (2004)
- PANTONE 14-4811 Aqua Sky (2003)
- PANTONE 19-1664 True Red (2002)
- PANTONE 17-2031 Fuchsia Rose (2001)
- PANTONE 15-4020 Cerulean (2000)
MORE: Pantone’s colour of the year for 2018 is Ultra Violet
MORE: Everything you need to know before you dye your hair blue
MORE: What you need to know about the reality behind those Instagram hair colour transformations
