As some of you might of heard, Pantone, global authority for standardised colour system, recently announced Colour of the year, 2019, Living Coral. According to the company’s statement, the optimistic orange shade with a golden undertone was largely influenced by the “the importance of“.Living Coral is cheerful and vibrant and reflects “reaction to the onslaught of digital technology and social media increasingly embedding into daily life”.
So how does colour of the year may affect branding trends in 2019?
Overall, when it comes to branding process and colour selection, short-lived trends should not influence the colour of your brand, unless it serves a purpose and tells a story relevant to your brand and audience. In contrary, following trends alone may only create a need for rebranding much sooner than your marketing budget is aimed at, drastically cutting down your ROI.
But then, how can brands utilise colour of the year, and what is it all about?
Colour of the year can serve a great inspiration behind many marketing activities or campaign executions. Even though it would be advised to appreciate the Living Coral from a distance rather than embracing it wholeheartedly, quite often, we can see a spark of colour shade trends throughout the year in elements such as photography, packaging elements, digital brand experiences, make up and more. There is always a way to compliment your brand and keep it relevant to the modern trends, most importantly finding inspiration not only in colour, but the meaning behind it.
With Living Coral taking its roots from Preserving Environment route, we can definitely foresee utilising deeper meaning of the colour within upcoming brands and marketing activities.
When it comes to building a brand, deep meaning and story should always come to play. Prior finalising any design or colour element, just ask yourself: “What does it mean to the brand and what purpose will it serve for the audiences in the long term?”
