Pantone Announces Ultra Violet is 2018 Color of the Year

Pantone has officially announced its Color of the Year for 2018: Ultra Violet.

Every year, Pantone draws from the cultural zeitgeist to choose a specific hue that it feels embodies the state of the world going into a new year. For 2018, Pantone selected a color that "suggests the mysteries of the cosmos, the intrigue of what lies ahead, and the discoveries beyond where we are now."

After selecting two colors for 2016 to reflect the changing cultural dynamic around gender issues, and a natural green color reflective of rebirth for 2017, Pantone is drawing inspiration for 2018 from higher consciousness and awareness.

"We are living in a time that requires inventiveness and imagination," Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, said in a press release. "It is this kind of creative inspiration that is indigenous to Pantone 18-3838 Ultra Violet, a blue-based purple that takes our awareness and potential to a higher level. From exploring new technologies and the greater galaxy, to artistic expression and spiritual reflection, intuitive Ultra Violet lights the way of what is yet to come."

Pantone also found inspiration from the passing of noteworthy public figures, especially deceased rock stars Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie and Prince, who frequently incorporated bold tones and glamor into their on- and off-stage personas.

"Hystorically, there has been a mystical or spiritual quality attached to Ultra Violet," Pantone said in a release. "The color is often associated with mindfulness practices, which offer a higher ground to those seeking refuge from today's over-stimulated world. The use of purple-toned lighting in meditation spaces and other gathering places energizes the communities that gather there and inspire connection."

After a tumultuous year in politics and social issues, and in a world surrounded by screens and 24-hour news cycles, Pantone is using this color to tell everyone to calm down a little bit, practice mindfulness and reach new levels of serenity and thinking.