Color of the year 2023 is Viva Magenta

One of the most awaited moments in December (besides lighting up Christmas decorations in city centres, decorating the Christmas tree and spending more time with family) is the announcement of the Pantone Color of the Year by the Pantone Color Institute. The Pantone Color Institute was founded more that two decades ago and has been championing colors of the year since cerulean blue in 2000. As Pantone Institute states, the selection process involves looking at everything from the entertainment and travel industries to technologies, cultural events and socio-economic conditions.

This years is the 23rd year that they announce a colour that depicts the trends and the happening in the world, reflects the global culture at a specific moment in time and also affects the design in various industries like graphic design, fashion design, technology, industrial design and more. The Color of the year 2023 is Viva Magenta and we see a little bit of our Rasberry Red and Red Pear in it. Viva Magenta Hex Code is #BA2649 and the PANTONE code is 18-1750.

Viva Magenta is seen as powerful and empowering. It is a new animated red that revels in pure joy, encouraging experimentation and self-expression without restraint. It welcomes anyone and everyone with the same verve for life and rebellious spirit. It is a color that is audacious, full of wit and inclusive of all (pantone.com).

Since there is no wavelength of light that corresponds to the magenta, some may say that it technically doesn’t exist, but Pantone — which literally wrote the book on color-matching in the 1960s — defines it as a “nuanced crimson red tone that presents a balance between warm and cool (time.com). 

Photo from: pantone.com

Colors are a visual language we all understand, no matter where and how we live. They can cross genders, generations and geographic limits and understanding their meaning can help us communicate through our shopping choices. They have a symbolic and a psychological meaning. The chosen color of the year often influences product development of many global companies and hence it shapes customer behaviour.

We see Viva Magenta as a perfect colour to add to home decor as it is vivid and bold but at the same time reflect calmness and so much cosiness. It can be described as universally flattering as it goes perfectly with neutral tones like grey, beige and white, but it will also fits in well with darker tones like a deep blue sofa or an armchair. Our optimistic Rasberry Red that we use for 100 % merino wool blankets and cushions and Red Pear that we use for velvet cushions are as close to Viva Magento as we can get.