Want to predict the next Millennial Pink? Try Pantone Color Insider, a new tool from Pantone that lets you see real-time color trends around the world.
Described as a “color trend intelligence service,” Pantone Color Insider provides global data on the usage of all 15,000 colors in the company’s color matching system, helping to identify both new micro-trends and the long-term popularity of different colors.
Pantone is known for developing and managing a universal color language that allows designers to use the same colors consistently across digital assets, print, packaging, and products made from all kinds of materials. But Pantone is also known for predicting the color of the year, which the Pantone Color Institute announces with much fanfare each December. (This year it was “Peach Fuzz,” following “Viva Magenta” in 2023 and “Very Peri” in 2022.)
The company hopes Color Insider will help artists, designers and businesses create their own trend forecasts and make color decisions based on what’s happening in the color space around the world. Using color can be a way to capture the zeitgeist, but also a way to stand out from the competition.
Pantone launches Color Insider. Photo courtesy of Pantone.
“We still have trend books, but that’s not enough,” said Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, at a demonstration of the new tool for journalists in New York City last month. “That’s what our clients are asking us to do. We’re really trying to give people thoughtful color advice.”
“Clients have told us this reduces the work time from four days to one hour,” added Jung Sin, Pantone’s global senior director of digital product management.
The Color Insider is part of Pantone Connect, the company’s digital platform launched in 2020 that lets designers map each color in their files to their Pantone reference numbers to ensure an accurate color match. (Adobe previously had a Pantone Color Finder tool in InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop; Pantone Connect requires an additional subscription.)
Pantone launches Color Insider. Photo courtesy of Pantone.
So if you see a dress you like, you can take a photo of it, upload it to Pantone, and learn not only what color it is, but where else that color is used. This can help you identify color harmonies and create a palette.
Pantone believes that the power of color should not be underestimated. The company has found that color influences up to 85 percent of product purchasing decisions and can increase brand recognition by 87 percent.
The color trend service will also have its own editorial branch that will provide analyses of the information from the color data tool as well as examples of how different industries use color.
Pantone launches Color Insider. Photo courtesy of Pantone.
This could include stories from Michelin-starred chefs, musicians and other creative minds celebrating their innovations and sharing colour inspiration. There will be industry-specific content from fashion, beauty, interior design and automotive.
Color Insider also provides users with valuable information on color theory, how color relates to mood and even psychology. All of this is designed to support color decision making at every step of the design process, from initial mood boards to raw materials and packaging.
The new, mobile-friendly tool costs $299 per year or $39.99 per month per user.
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