Ringing in the New Year brings with it a renewed energy for what’s to come. And every year, the colour experts at the PANTONE Colour Institute research and analyses design, film, food, fashion, art and more to arrive at a colour of the year. This year it’s PANTONE 18-3838, also known as Ultra Violet.

Where last year’s colour was inspired by nature, this 2018’s Colour of the Year is meant to evoke creative inspiration. The blue-based purple is meant to represent the era in which we live—one that requires innovation and imagination.

“We are living in a time that requires inventiveness and imagination. It is this kind of creative inspiration that is indigenous to PANTONE 18-3838 Ultra Violet, a blue-based purple that takes our awareness and potential to a higher level,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. “From exploring new technologies and the greater galaxy, to artistic expression and spiritual reflection, intuitive Ultra Violet lights the way to what is yet to come.”

The colour choice doesn’t come as a complete shock, though. Earlier this year, Pantone released Love Symbol #2; a custom colour that honours the late music legend, Prince. Citing other musical icons like David Bowie and Jimi Hendrix, PANTONE noted that a colour like Ultra Violet has long been symbolic of counterculture, unconventionality, and artistic brilliance.

Source: https://www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year-2018