With February looming, you may have been wondering why I haven't written anything about 2013's Color of the Year (COY) yet. After all, it's become a tradition for me to unveil this factoid and comment on it here. This year, however, I learned about COY in a surprising way, and it got me to thinking less about color and more about how information is gathered.
During a post-holiday visit, I mentioned to our younger son and daughter-in-law that I would soon be looking up the 2013 COY and writing about it in my blog. She had never heard of the concept, so we were having a good chuckle over PMS numbers (assigned by the Pantone Matching System). He knew all about PMS from the POV of an entrepreneur who must maintain a consistent color scheme for his corporate image. COY was new to him, though, so he touched his ever-present smart phone and said, "It's emerald green."
Thus I was upstaged. Surprised when I had expected to do the surprising, yet also surprised that a color from the cool end of the spectrum had been chosen after two years of hot ones. Here was a COY, like the turquoise of 2010, that I would actually wear. Indeed, emerald is my birthstone.
After cooling down for at least a week, I finally made a leisurely visit to the Pantone website, not to be surprised by the COY but to revel in the rhetoric I have learned to expect there. I was not disappointed, and must quote the whole blurb:
The 2012 color of the year, PANTONE 17-1463 Tangerine Tango, a spirited reddish orange, provided the energy boost we needed to recharge and move forward. Emerald, a vivid verdant green [PMS 17-5641], enhances our sense of well-being further by inspiring insight as well as promoting balance and harmony.
Most often associated with brilliant, precious gemstones, the perception of Emerald is sophisticated and luxurious. Since antiquity, this luminous, magnificent hue has been the color of beauty and new life in many cultures and religions. Also the color of growth, renewal and prosperity, no other color conveys regeneration more than green. For centuries, many countries have chosen green to represent healing and unity.
"The most abundant hue in nature, the human eye sees more green than any other color in the spectrum," said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. "As it has throughout history, multifaceted Emerald continues to sparkle and fascinate. Symbolically, Emerald brings a sense of clarity, renewal and rejuvenation, which is so important in today's complex world. This powerful and universally-appealing tone translates easily to both fashion and home interiors."There you have it. 2013's COY. I shall put on my necklace of emerald nuggets and go in search of inspiring insights.
