Pantone Color of the Year is ‘Classic Blue,’ hoping for calm this year

Heading into 2020 with what is assured to be a contentious election, with forests in the Amazon being decimated, with global warming melting polar regions faster than a butane torch and political violence escalating in just about every part of the world, Pantone has decided to harken back to a more calm, confident and connected time with its own Blue period.

Pantone announced the color of the year for 2020 and its Classic Blue (PANTONE 19-4052). The Pantone Color Institute selects its Color of the Year, forecasting global color trends and suggesting what it will be the “it” color for the coming year, according to the company’s website.

The Classic Blue may remind you of the color of Facebook, the Democrat Party, and a pair of Levi’s; the organization said it is attempting to harken back to a feeling of comfort and protection, even as technology races ahead and we humans are left to play catch up and attempt to process in its aftermath.

In a press release, Pantone described the denim-like tone as “solid and dependable,” and “non-aggressive and easily relatable.”

“Imprinted in our psyches as a restful color, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue brings a sense of peace and tranquility to the human spirit, offering refuge,” according to the website.

“We are living in a time that requires trust and faith. It is this kind of constancy and confidence that is expressed by PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue, a solid and dependable blue hue we can always rely on,” said Leatrice Eisman, Executive Director of The Pantone Color Institute.

The color is said to be an “anchoring foundation,” evocative of the “vast evening sky” and to increase our perspective and open the flow of communication.

For more than 20 years Pantone has been choosing a color of the year and it consults a whole host of experts who seek out color influences and trends from the world of music, fashion, movies, media, etc.

In his article on Web Designer Depot, Ben Moss said of the choice, “Classic Blue is a color that harks back to a time when we hid our head in the sand and pretended everything was fine. It’s the color of the pre-2008 crash, the color of Facebook pre-privacy scandal, the brand color of your parents’ bank. Classic Blue is about as 2020 as Helvetica.”

As an alternative to the Pantone choice, Moss said a more forward thinking color for the time would be cyberpunk pink.

This is not the first time Pantone has been taken to task for its color choice. At a time when the Great Barrier Reef is dying because of the impact of global warming, The Pantone color for 2019 was Living Coral. That choice was seen as tone-deaf from some of those in the design industry.