For the past 23 years artists, home stagers, and graphic designers look at the Pantone color year in December. It has undeniably influenced the color game since 1963 when they came out with the Pantone Matching System. It's an innovative tool that allows for consistent and accurate color matching anywhere in the world, the tool organizes color with a numbering system and chip format. After that, Pantone further cemented their standing in the color community by coming out with the color of the year, it was initially created in 1999 to engage the design community and color enthusiasts around the world in a conversation around color and was made to reflect the relationship between culture and color.
Per their website, “It is one long, continuously flowing conversation among a group of color-attuned people.” this conversation covers a vast amount of topics which can include popular travel destinations, the entertainment industry and films in production, traveling art collections, and new artists, Fashions as well as socio-economic conditions. What's special and beautiful about how Pantone chooses the color of the year is anything and everything taking place in our culture during that year can affect what color they pick and it's never restricted to a certain hemisphere. Every year around the globe, color artists far and wide come together to decide on a zeitgeist that connects everyone and attributes a color to it.
What color is 2023?
Welcome, Viva Magenta 18-1750! This powerful member of the red family is the color that will likely be seen and used often in 2023. It is made from cochineal dye, which is the strongest and brightest natural dye in the world and it's technically not a color as it has no wavelength that compares to the color. As stated on their website “It is a shade rooted in nature descending from the red family and expressive of a new signal of strength. Viva Magenta is brave and fearless, a pulsating color whose exuberance promotes a joyous and optimistic celebration of writing a new narrative”. It's bold and adventurous and made to be a hybrid color, to feel cool and warm at the same time, but you've got to be careful, if it's paired with too many daring colors it will overwhelm any room.
It comes with its own Magentaverse, a curated palette of colors from Pantone to go with Viva Magenta 18-1750. Companies like Motorola and Spoonflower are already incorporating this designated shade and palate into their products, and the art space ARTECHOUSE is offering an enchanting Magenta experience in New York City and Miami.
One easy way to use this color best is in textiles and accessories like a throw blanket, a few pillows, or even a rug. I like to use throw blankets a lot because they're so versatile. They can be put anywhere and depending on how you place them they will always put a different natural feel in your living space. The rug and the tray in this picture are good examples of how this color can make any space pop and feel youthful. Depending on how bold you'd like to be with this color you could also use it in a high visibility accessory like a lighting fixture to bring the bring the eyes up or a decorative art sculpture.
Another way you can use this color is on your walls. It's eye-catching, exciting, and sets a permanent mood in any room. Again, it is a bold color so to make sure this color would be a good addition to your space I would get a sample at your local paint supplier and run to an art store and get two good-sized canvases around 20 x 30. When you get home, paint both of them and hang one in the room you'd like to paint and try to focus on how the color there makes you feel. Then put the other one somewhere you pass by often. If you can't smile when you pass by it, it probably won't make you too happy when it's all over your walls. You can also put it on your walls as an accent, not as sharp but still giving you that burst of color and excitement.
My last tip on how to use Viva Magenta 18-1750 is for anyone not ready to make the jump to bright colors in their home and has a green thumb! There are some beautiful flower options to add to your entrance to add some vigor and liveliness. Snapdragons have a long flowering cycle and bloom multiple times in their blossom season. They are also easy to grow and don't need much space. All you need to do is make sure they're fed with water and in full sun. They come in multiple colors but the magenta is almost spot on to Viva Magenta, it's vibrant and dynamic and a good fit to make your front yard stand out.
