Pantone’s 2019 Color of the Year is 'Sociable and Spirited' Living Coral

Goodbye violet, and hello coral. Pantone has named “Living Coral” its Color of the Year for 2019, but you still have the rest of the month to wear out this year’s shade of “Ultra Violet.”

The orange-pink hue (officially PANTONE 16-1546) is a response to an environment in flux and the human need to feel connected to other people, even as technology becomes more and more embedded in our daily lives, according to Pantone. "Sociable and spirited, the engaging nature of PANTONE 16-1546 Living Coral welcomes and encourages lighthearted activity,” the company writes on its website. “Symbolizing our innate need for optimism and joyful pursuits, PANTONE 16-1546 Living Coral embodies our desire for playful expression.”

As the world’s leading authority on color, Pantone’s picks for Color of the Year have been informing the worlds of interior decorating, fashion, graphic design, and other creative fields since 1999. The company’s Color Institute chose cerulean blue as its very first prediction for the year ahead (2000), according to the history section of Pantone’s website.

The intensive process of predicting the next color to take over the design world begins with noticing the hues that are starting to appear more prominently in new fashion lines, films, cars, art, and the streets of some of the world’s trendiest places, like London, Paris, and Milan.

In 2014, Leatrice Eiseman—executive director of the Pantone Color Institute—told Glamour that Pantone’s color experts are trained to look at “macro influences” around the world. “You can’t look just in the category that’s of specific interest,” Eiseman said. “You might manufacture clothing, but you have to know what’s happening in the bigger world around you so you know what color to choose.”

For those more interested in practical interior design trends than all-encompassing color schemes, paint brand Benjamin Moore has also revealed its color of the year for 2019. A cool gray hue (called Metropolitan AF-690) was chosen for the “calming role” it plays in our lives and our homes.