ICM Creative Communications

Thursday, September 10th 2009

Pantone Madness

You may have heard people talk about their bland job, no colour, working in an office all day, staring at the same grey drab walls hour after hour.

Well spare a thought for the poor people at Pantone. EVERY day is colour! Their entire job is a smashing whirlwind of tones and hues of EVERY possible combination. Their entire remit IS colour, traveling the world and trying to predict the colour trends for the next season.

As you will see in this video – Pantone publish colour guides for certain sectors each year – Fashion being one of those sectors. Each year, millions of pounds are wagered on the forecast of the Pantone predictions as they buy their consumables for next years products.

See all Home Show at ExpoTV.com

It is not only the fashion industry – Car manufacturers, electronic devices such as phones and MP3 Players – in fact almost anything mass produced will have had time, effort and research put into choosing the right colour . . .

There are now hundreds of products available through Pantone and other outlets that mimic the famous Pantone colour swatch and style. Bags, Watches, Pillows – you name it. I even did a double take at the weekend when I visited York for the day – passing a jewelers shop I was drawn to window because some of the products had been mounted and displayed on Pantone matched stands! Right down to using the Pantone references and numbers that matched the stones and colours of the product!!!

Where will it end? Will you be able to search clothing stores and filter results according to their Pantone reference? Will you be on the Pantone website asking for complimentary green for that pair of shoes you have bought? . . . And heavens forbid if that new handbag came WITHOUT a Pantone reference! . . . Oh, don’t worry. Just take a picture on your phone and mail it to accessorize@pantone.com – they will analyze the shot and mail you back a reference within a few minutes . . .