Color Matters

Some people think all blues look the same. The folks at PANTONE® might have a different opinion. In the scene from “The Devil Wears Prada” where they are meeting to discuss the cover shot of Runway Magazine, Anne Hathaway’s character says “both those belts look exactly the same to me.” Meryl Streep, who plays Miranda Priestly, reminds her naive assistant that the cerulean blue sweater she bought at some discount store was chosen for her by the very people in the room. How silly of us to think that we have freedom of choice when it comes to color selection? The bottom line is that we see the colors others want us to see. The broad array of colors we see in our daily lives are all created by designers, publishers, and manufacturers in back offices and conference rooms and on production floors and are placed into the stream of commerce and magically appear before the consumers they were intended to target. And those colors become extremely important as it becomes synonymous with the identity of the brand itself—think Tiffany Blue, UPS Brown, Starbucks Green, or Coca-Cola Red. These colors were specifically created for the products they adorn and are restricted in terms of use. But make no mistake about it, every color chosen—for the presentation box, truck, coffee cup, soda can, car, sweater, or advertisement has been carefully crafted for your viewing pleasure and enjoyment. You might ask who regulates color? The answer is simply as there is one sheriff and system that helps maintain order in the world of color—PANTONE.

PANTONE is known worldwide as the standard language for color communication. It is a system of identifying, matching and communicating colors to solve the problems associated with producing accurate color matches in the graphic arts community. Over the last 45 years, PANTONE has expanded its color matching system concept to other color-critical industries, including digital technology, textiles, plastics, architecture and contract interiors, and paint. Maintaining control over color is a primary concern of design and design-related professionals throughout the world. Fortunately, the growing family of PANTONE Color Systems offers a reliable method for achieving consistent color from concept to reproduction. While it might be easy for the folks at PANTONE to stick with their current color inventory, they are constantly evolving and have recently created the next generation of color, PANTONE PLUS.

“PANTONE PLUS takes what designers and printers know and love about the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM (“PMS”) and supercharges it with a host of new features, colors and digital tools,” said Ron Potesky, senior vice president and general manager of PANTONE. “The PLUS SERIES provides designers with greater freedom for selecting, specifying and matching color. And, since the PANTONE PLUS SERIES is based on the widely used PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM, there’s no training or new equipment required to start pushing the boundaries of creativity.” A modern evolution of the PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM, the PANTONE PLUS SERIES provides designers and printers with new features and capabilities to fulfill their creative desires. Enhancements include the chromatic arrangement of colors for more intuitive selection, an expanded palette of spot colors, the addition of new premium metallics and a broader range of neons.

PANTONE PLUS has added an additional 224 new solid colors for a total of 1,341 PANTONE colors. Ultimately, this enhanced selection of colors should offer designers more options and flexibility in the creative process with which to attract and excite us as consumers. So the next time you pick up that sweater, purchase a new car, drink a coffee or soda, or open a gift box, think about the rather complex thought process that has gone into its color selection. Remember, it’s never just “blue”; it could be PMS 287, 293, 622, or 2736.