Colors can be synonymous for the brands they represent, like Tiffany Blue, or Coca-Cola Red. This is important because having a color palette a company can identify with helps create a vocabulary between the designer and the consumer that actually means something to both. Your brain sees the color in a flash, and instantly recognizes who is “speaking” to them.
In 2017 the Pantone Color of the Year inspired BAM to take our client’s traditional law firm logo and redesign it in color to stand out from the competition. The color, called Greenery (15-0343), signified a feeling of growth and renewal.
We incorporated a similar green along with deep blue to create a new ZNC Law logo that catches the eye with a fresh color, yet still retains a classic and strong feel rooted in the company’s long history and commitment to the community. We carried the color theme into their newly designed website, ZNCLaw.com– to create an instantly recognizable identity.
Pantone, as it is today, was founded in 1962, when the company—at the time a small business which manufactured color cards for cosmetics companies—was bought by Lawrence Herbert, who had been an employee since 1956. He immediately changed its direction, developing the first color matching system in 1963. The Pantone Matching System assigns number sequences to colors and is known worldwide as the standard language for color communication from designer, to manufacturer to retailer to customer. When a PMS color is printed on a t-shirt, billboard, or business cards, it will consistently print as the same color. Since 2000, the color experts at the Pantone Color Institute pore over research and analyses of design, film, food, fashion, art and entertainment, as well as materials, travel, sports and technology, to arrive at a color of the year. Pantone is intensely focused on how their color forecasts apply to all areas of creative design that use color.
“The Pantone Color of the Year has come to mean so much more than ‘what’s trending’ in the world of design; it’s truly a reflection of what’s needed in our world today.”
– Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute.
Purple, of all the colors in the spectrum, embodies (2018) best, as Pantone explains. “[Ultra Violet] is a very provocative shade, but it’s also a thoughtful color–it sounds like a bit of an oxymoron. This is the kind of color attached, historically, to originality, ingenuity, and visionary thinking. These are the elements we need to create a meaningful future. Inventiveness and imagination is something we seek in our personal lives and business worlds. People are looking for that ‘magic bullet,’ and this shade is the perfect shade to lead right into it . . . It’s intriguing, fascinating, and magical.” -Lee Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute.
Flip through a magazine at the dentist office, shop for tech products, home furnishings or watch TV commercials in the next few months and you’ll see: Everything is coming up Ultra Violet!
Interested in finding out about how Bob Abbate Marketing can help you incorporate smart design to drive traffic and boost sales for your company or brand? Let’s talk.
Jeanne Rolston is Senior Art Director at Bob Abbate Marketing. Jeanne translates client messages into striking, effective and convincing visual advertising. A devout follower of all things artistic, including fashion, food, theatre and screen, Jeanne feels that rich visuals are like nutrition for the mind and soul.