Ultra Violet Pantone 2018

When Pantone's hot new colour for 2018, Ultra Violet, was announced late last year - half the design community cried 'Yes!' while the other half (me included) said Wait.. what, um er.. no thanks. For me the colour purple is still mired in the realms of cheap chocolate, teletubbies and some awful design on DIY shows. However after some persuasion I have to admit that I'm coming round to the idea.

Pantone explains "we are living in a time that requires inventiveness and imagination" and that Ultra Violet could take our "awareness and potential to a higher lever". Having loved Pantone's 2017's Greenery colour and the ease of which we could design with it, I can see the challenges of using Ultra Violet, especially in greetings. It's going to be tricky and will need that "inventiveness and imagination" to place with those seasonal colours - valentine's red, easter yellow, father's day blue etc. It could nonetheless make for a fresh new take on the escapism and constellation trends (though we have possibly reached peak unicorn?).

We are now starting to see the work of designers who have taken on the purple. I'm quite excited to see a new light on violet and where this creative colour goes. Here are a few purple picks:



above clockwise from top left: battersea 9 square greeting card from ohh deer, pf-mb 014 from malissa brown pressed and folded, moon journal book from oliver bonas, large form gift bag from oliver bonas, my darling husband card from lagom, frida kahlo print from artisticsideoflife, happiness mothers day card woodmansterne from john lewis, elephant greeting card from lagom, you can do anything but not everything card from oh squirrel, centre: party hats design from papier.

#pantonecolouroftheyear2018 #pantone #ultraviolet #purple #stationerylove #paperlove 

my purple premonition