Pantone has picked two colors to represent 2021

If you think that the colour of the year elected by Pantone is exclusively for commercial and merchandising purposes, you are wrong. The choice made every year by the American Institute is also a thermometer of global moods, as evidenced by the choice of Classic Blue for 2020, a simple colour you can rely on for what has been a decidedly complicated year. So complicated that Pantone had to choose two colours to get us back, setting a historical precedent for the institute. 

Ultimate Gray and Illuminating are the choices made for 2021, two independent colours united to express a unified message of strength and hope. "It's a combination of resilience, optimism, hope and positivity that we need to get started, renew and reinvent ourselves," said Pantone Color Institute Vice President Laurie Pressman. Ultimate Gray is the first achromatic shade to be selected for Color of the Year and offers a stark contrast to Illuminating's sunny yellow. 

The only precedent of a double choice in the colours of the year dates back to 2016 when Pantone chose Rose Quartz and Serenity. Obviously Ultimate Gray and Illuminating are already available on branded products in the online shop.