The Pantone Colours of the Year for 2021 have been announced

Global colour authority Pantone has announced the colours – yes, there’s not one, but two – of the year for 2021.

The Pantone Colour Institute, the business unit within the company that forecasts global colour trends, this morning announced that Ultimate Gray and Illuminating will be the hues that will shape our design and fashion choices next year.

The colours have been described as “a marriage of colour conveying a message of strength and hopefulness that is both enduring and uplifting”. And after the year the world has endured in 2020, the two tones could not be more appropriate.

In a nod to the unprecedented events that have shaped this year – a global pandemic, economic uncertainty, environmental concerns and social upheaval, to name a few – the colours are ones that project stability, positivity and hope.

“Illuminating is a bright and cheerful yellow sparkling with vivacity, a warming yellow shade imbued with solar power,” according to the Pantone website.

“Ultimate Gray is emblematic of solid and dependable elements which are everlasting and provide a firm foundation. The colours of pebbles on the beach whose weathered appearance highlight the ability to stand the test of time, Ultimate Gray quietly assures, encouraging feelings of composure, steadiness and resilience.

“Emboldening the spirit, the pairing of Ultimate Gray and Illuminating highlights our innate need to be seen, to be visible, to be recognised, to have our voices heard.

“A combination of colour whose ties to insight, innovation and intuition, and respect for wisdom, experience, and intelligence inspires regeneration, pressing us forward toward new ways of thinking and concepts.”

“The union of an enduring Ultimate Gray with the vibrant yellow Illuminating expresses a message of positivity supported by fortitude. Practical and rock-solid but at the same time warming and optimistic, this is a colour combination that gives us resilience and hope. We need to feel encouraged and uplifted; this is essential to the human spirit,” executive director of the Pantone Colour Institute Leatrice Eiseman said on their website.

The last time the institute announced two colours of the year was in 2016 when Rose Quartz and Serenity were named, thus beginning our obsession with Millennial pink.

The Pantone Colour of the Year selection is a carefully considered one, with experts scouring the world for influences and trends in the arts and entertainment industries, fashion, design, new technologies, as well as lifestyles and socio-economic conditions.

For over 20 years, the annual colour of the year announcement has shaped product development and purchasing decisions in an array of industries including fashion and home furnishings, so you can expect to see these two hues popping up everywhere, from your wardrobe to your couch cushions.