Pantone

Color Smarts: Pantone’s Color IQ Test

Pantone color IQ test
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As you know, I’m a big fan of Pantone*, the company that sets many a color standard for a wide range of industries, and provides helpful products and resources as well. You’ve probably seen their Color of the Year stories (UltraViolet for 2018), for example.

coty2018ultraviolet

Today, I ran across another fun little thing on Pantone’s site: their color IQ test! You just rearrange color tiles into a sequence that creates a smooth gradient from one color to another. It looks (but only looks) simple enough. Continue reading →

Green(ery) Christmas: Pantone’s 2017 Color of the Year!

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It’s official: Pantone*, the standard-bearer for all things color-related, has announced its 2017 Color of the Year!

Meet Greenery!

Pantone's Color of the Year: Greenery!
This picture is a screenshot I took of the Greenery video at Pantone’s website; click on the image to see the full video. (P.S. This video is the perfect antidote to the polar vortex weather!)

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Colors of the Year: Making Pink & Blue Work for You

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As I mentioned in my recent post following Pantone’s announcement of their co-Colors of the Year (COTY), Pink Quartz and Serenity, my initial reaction was, well, raised eyebrows (she understated.) And now, several days later, do I feel any differently? Hmm. No, not really. I’m skeptical. As much as I want to embrace every hue in the color world equally, I feel like I’ll have to work really hard to think of ways to use what looks to me like colors that belong in a nursery. But I’m trying to keep an open mind— let’s see how we can make these colors work!

Pantone's 2016 COTY
Pantone’s 2016 Colors of the Year, shown here with the CMYK values and hex code that come with every Colormusing palette. (Click the colors to see what Pantone has to say about them.)

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Pantone Announces 2016 Color(s) of the Year!

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Just in from the color gurus at Pantone: For 2016, there’s not one, but two Colors of the Year! I present to you… Rose Quartz and Serenity!

Pantone's 2016 COTY
Pantone’s 2016 Colors of the Year! Here, I’ve included the same CMYK and hex code information that comes with every Colormusing palette. (Click the colors to see what Pantone has to say about their COTY choices.)

Continue reading →

The Colors of Money

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The more I work with creating color palettes, the more I’m aware of inspiration lurking, at times, in some frankly odd places. But this is the first time I’ve had one delivered to me with my e-mail, not from Martha Stewart or HGTV — from Publisher’s Clearing House! Take a look:

Publisher's Clearing House e-mail color palette
Publisher’s Clearing House e-mail color palette; this is a good reminder that palettes are in use all around us! (Click on the picture to go to PCH’s website.)

Being involved in graphic design, I’m certainly aware that a major application of color palettes is in website development, and related projects like this e-mail promotion. But this is the first time this concept has struck me this way; we do tend to take in the page overall, not consciously picking out separate colors, especially when there are this many. It’s a good lesson to keep my eyes open! Continue reading →

Spring/Summer 2013: Pantone’s Color Forecast

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Well, it’s barely fall, officially, especially here in Portland, but I couldn’t wait to show you these fabulous colors! (You’ll thank me during the long, grey winter days, trust me.) This amazing collection comes directly from Pantone, and seems to forecast bright, happy, optimistic times ahead for spring and summer!

Pantone's Spring/Summer 2013 Colors Pantone’s Spring/Summer 2013 colors. (Click the image to go directly to this page on Pantone’s website.) Continue reading →