Why does the ‘color of the year’ matter?

Should we really care what Pantone says is the ‘color of the year’ for 2017? Probably. Here’s why.

The color of 2017 isn’t just a marketing tool for companies to sell us more ‘Greenery’ colored items. Yes, the color does increase the production and sales of the color, but it isn’t really what is at the heart of a ‘color of the year’ pick.

Color aficionados (aka major color geeks like me), enjoy seeing the sudden use of a color that has been ‘asleep’ for a while. Color choices come and go in fashion and home decor. Remember when everyone was using dark green and burgundy? It was everywhere. And then turquoise and green became happy little color cohorts several years ago. Jewel tones have had their major moment that hasn’t quite faded. Why? It’s not just the companies that make the products. It’s you.

You impact the color of the year.

Color analysts look at what you are wearing, buying, pinning, sharing, posting, and saying about those colors. We look at what’s happening in politics, environment, science, and the general mood of the country and the world. There are colors that we turn to when we want comfort, colors that we choose when we are hopeful, and colors that we choose when it’s raining. Look around you on a rainy day, and see how many more people are wearing blue. True story. Fish sales also go up on rainy days.

Pantone’s 2017 color of the year is Greenery. It’s a color that shows new beginnings in nature and hope. This hue of green combines yellow, which is a cheerful and hopeful color, with green, which is a color of nature and of wealth. I think Greenery captures the hopeful essence most of us feel. We’re concerned about what lies ahead in the coming year, and we’re looking at it with fresh eyes. It’s Greenery.

So when you see more shops stocking Greenery, it’s partly because they know it is the chosen color, and partly because you helped choose it.

Join us to talk the Color of the Year during our next #HossDesign Twitter chat on Wednesday, December 21st at 8pmET. You’ll help make it the most fun 30 minutes you’ll have talking design all week.