With the close of 2022 came the Pantone "forecast" announcement of the new Color of the Year for 2023. Now ... If you're new around here, you may not be familiar with my Pantone gripe. The good news is, you can read more about it over here. The, uhm, other news is that you will very quickly discover how wordy I am. I'd apologize, but honestly? I clearly needed to get all of that off my chest, like, it can't be healthy to hold that much animosity for the color equivalent of groundhog's day -- A harmless holiday(?) that means nothing, but also kind of something..?
Anyway, we're back at it (like it or not)!
But wait ... There's more! If you think I've got problems with Pantone, you should give Artist, and Color Liberator @StuartSemple a follow over on the gram. I've written about my petty-soulmate before, but he really has a beautiful way of taking his grievances to the next level ... One that you may be particularly interested in if you're a current user of Adobe software, and find yourself frustrated by the paywall behind which Pantone has secured its color palette: Freetone. Act now, for your free Adobe plugin!After two months of hibernation, I've stumbled out of my burrow. I've seen my magenta shadow, and have declared 365 days of a living pink nightmare for all! Muahahahaha ha haaha!!
I, however, promise to spare you six weeks of complaining about it. The annual self-fulfilling prophecy, and money-grubbing aside, I'm kinda digging this year's choice if I'm totally honest. That's not to say, I'm chomping at the bit to buy any trademarked merch, but I've rarely met a bold pink, or deep red, or juicy jewel tone I haven't loved, and for me, Viva Magenta is ticking the right boxes. In fact, it's been quite a while since we've had a color so alive. Living Coral tried it in 2019, and 2011-2012's Honeysuckle, and Tangerine Tango gave it a go, but even with this year's selection in the mix, I've always felt the reds / pinks since 2001 have been unnecessarily muted. I often find myself wishing the folks at Pantone with all of their bajillions of colors would muster up a little courage and go with a true, full-throttle color pick for once, but something tells me this is as adventurous as we'll be getting for a long while. Next year's option will probably be some frosted out pastel, or a minty green of some sort, or at least something that will lull us back into submission, so live it up while you can, be as tacky as you desire, and maybe break a few self-imposed rules with your raucous roses, funky fuchsias, and boisterous blushes ... Most importantly, have a little fun while you're at it!
xoxo
