Every year Pantone picks a color of the year, with sound rationale to explain their thinking. And I am generally aligned with the sentiment in which the brand makes their choice.

If you are not familiar with Pantone, here’s how Wikipedia describes them:

“The company is best known for its Pantone Matching System (PMS), a proprietary color space used in a variety of industries, notably graphic design, fashion design, product design, printing, and manufacturing and supporting the management of color from design to production, in physical and digital formats, among coated and uncoated materials, cotton, polyester, nylon and plastics.”

That’s a lot. Essentially, they provide color choices to the design world. For those of us in a creative industry, we know only too well about PMS colors. My personal signature color is Orange 021:

For 2024, the brand picked Peach Fuzz as it’s choice to represent the year ahead, and has asked us all to “embrace the warmth.” I’m embracing it.

In talking about the choice of Peach Fuzz, Pantone has this to say:

“PANTONE 13-1023 Peach Fuzz captures our desire to nurture ourselves and others. It's a velvety gentle peach tone whose all-embracing spirit enriches mind, body, and soul.”

Company spokesperson Leatrice Eiseman who is Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute also had this to say:

“In seeking a hue that echoes our innate yearning for closeness and connection, we chose a color radiant with warmth and modern elegance. A shade that resonates with compassion, offers a tactile embrace, and effortlessly bridges the youthful with the timeless.”

I would say that’s exactly where we are in the world. We all need to nurture ourselves and others.

We are already seeing the color come up in fashion, home decor, automotive, etc., so be on the lookout. Pantone is very influential in steering design via color. I mean, that is their job!

What do you think of Peach Fuzz? What’s your experience? JIM

Pantone Color of the Year 2024