Meet Ultra Violet: Pantone 2018 Color of the Year

Meet Ultra Violet: Pantone 2018 Color of the Year

If you had any questions as to whether or not 2018 was going to be a bold, vibrant year in design – well, Pantone just answered them.

Ultra Violet (Pantone 18-3838) is the Pantone 2018 Color of the Year. A confident, striking, and complex purple, Ultra Violet is touted by the color experts at Pantone as “dramatically provocative and thoughtful”.

In their introduction of Ultra Violet as 2018 Color of the Year, Pantone refers to “enigmatic purples” as evocative of artistic and social brilliance, before invoking the names of such luminaries as Prince and Jimi Hendrix.

Although both colors are generally bright and cheerful, Ultra Violet is a departure from Greenery, the Pantone 2017 Color of the Year. While Greenery was rooted in nature, earthy tones and complementary neutrals, Ultra Violet is a bit more – well, intergalactic. Even Pantone admits there is a “mystical or spiritual quality” to their 2018 Color of the Year.

Now that we have our Color of the Year, the question for home, interior, kitchen and bath designers is simple. Where do we go from here?

Ultra Violet is a bold choice by Pantone, and admittedly seems far better suited to fashion design that interior or industrial design – at least on first glance. Decor designers have already utilized Ultra Violet on accessories and furniture, ranging from lounges to lamps, carpets to chairs.

But will we see home designers bold enough to utilize Ultra Violet as a primary or statement shade for full room design? Is 2018 the year where purple dominates accent walls, wainscoting, and total area paint rather than throws, accessories and pillows?

Early returns are in, and reviews are generally positive for Pantone’s choice of Ultra Violet as 2018 Color of the Year. The Guardian appears captivated by Ultra Violet, providing a vivid display of photos utilizing the shade of purple. Meanwhile, the New York Times is a bit more cautious in its appraisal, calling the color more “wishful thinking” than a reflection of what’s actually happening in society.

But that’s part of the charm of Ultra Violet – sometimes, the color we put into our world is simply a reflection of what we want it to be. And by injecting a mystical, vivid, daydreamer’s shade of purple into 2018, perhaps Pantone is giving us all a way to design our lives into a positive state.

What’s YOUR take on Ultra Violet, Pantone’s 2018 Color of the Year? Your opinion matters to us. Leave a comment, and don’t forget to subscribe to Design Your Lifestyle!