Recently Pantone revealed their colour of the year for 2019: Living Coral. Pantone describes it as “an animating and life-affirming coral hue with a golden undertone that energizes and enlivens with a softer edge“. What does that mean? I interpret this to mean that it is a bold colour but at the same time feels warm. Not sure what life-affirming means…
Already identified as a key colour for London Fashion Week for Spring/Summer 19, a lot of vibrant oranges and pinks are predicted to be in High Street stores this year and coral is a softer way to use these colours. I don’t expect the colour to only appear in fashion as the colour will look fab in home design. In fact, the design community is really getting on-board with this colour and I’ve seen Living Coral in lots of Instagram posts (checkout #livingcoral for inspiration).
Why is the Pantone colour of the year important?
You may not have heard of them if you’re not a designer but Pantone is massively influential in the colours we see – everything from fashion and home design to products, packaging and even advertising. The colour codes are used around the world and ensure that designers and factories are all using the exact same shade of colour For the last 20 years, Pantone has announced their colour of the year. They choose the colour by researching trends in all areas of design. You can see the last 20 years colours below:
So what colours work best with living coral?
This is a very easy colour to match with others, whether you use it as your main colour or an accent colour.
Firstly as the name and main image suggests, think of sea shades such as Blue Depths or Viridian Green:
Looking at opposing colours, a slightly softer purple (Chive Blossom) than last year’s Ultra Violet could work well if you wanted a bold look:
Try some strong dark neutrals such as Beluga and Twill or Strom Grey and Forest Biome. These will make Living Coral the focal point:
But will it work in web design?
Last year, I wasn’t sure about using 2018’s colour of the year Ultra Violet in website design, but I did see it in good use on GoWithThePro‘s website. I used a softer shade of purple on PH-PetHorizon‘s website.
So will I be using Living Coral in website design? YES! It’ a great colour to use – it contrasts well against white and darker colours too. To prove it, all the headings and accent colours in this article are in Living Coral (HEX #ff6d70).
