How the 2019 Color of the Year is Already Inspiring Design

If you’re like me, you’re anxiously waiting for the beginning of 2019 – the closer to summer the better. In the meantime, I’m feeling inspired by the 2019 Color of the Year.

Let’s be real, Pantone’s ‘Living Coral’ is perfectly nostalgic, calming, warm and one-hundred-percent just makes me wish I were lounging in my backyard reading a book until sunset.

Color is a powerful tool in that it transcends verbal communication. The color red, for example, is used as the universal traffic light for ‘stop’. In nature, red is used as a warning color. It can even make you feel hungry. Crazy, right? No words, just color…and nobody knows that better than Pantone.

As we soak in the newly crowned 2019 Color of the Year, I honestly don’t think that any of us can be surprised that it ended up being this lovely shade of coral.

A few reasons the 2019 Color of the Year deserves its podium:

• Floral print in fashion has made an enormous resurgence…I’m not complaining. I love floral & I don’t think you can have floral without coral!
• Neutral colors are as popular as ever, but interior design trends are still leaning neutral with bright pops of color to add focal interest in rooms. Plus, it’s a color that’s reminiscent of the 60s. It would look great next to some dark wood grain…who doesn’t love a little Mid-Century Modern flair?
• Design is getting bolder, and brighter. Shades of coral look great against dark backgrounds like navy blue and really pop, especially in digital design. It has the attention-grabbing abilities of a red, but the softness of a violet.

We are saturated with color every day, even more so now that we live so much of our lives in a digital world. But the truth is, whether it’s on a mobile device, the walls of your new living room, or the front-runner color to represent your brand, color is a big deal. It can convey feelings, emotions, and illicit a response that sometimes, words just can’t.

So, there we have it – 2019’s Color of the Year: ‘Living Coral’ – a trendy, calm and hopeful color that’s sure to infiltrate the world’s fashion, interior and graphic design in the coming year.

Looking to spruce up your brand with inspired design? Let’s talk.

by Melyssa Kent