Paul Mauriat ~ Love is Blue (1968)

Pantone's 2020 Color of the Year carries more than one message

By Amanda Yeo
37 minutes ago

The world could do a bit more stability amongst the frankly horrifying rollercoaster we've been on over the past few years. Climate change, invasive tech companies, and whatever the heck is going on in the White House have many people terrified about our future, and some wondering if we even have one at all.
Now, Pantone appears to be trying to soothe our existential dread. The color-collating company announced on Wednesday that its Color of the Year for 2020 is Pantone 19-4052 Classic Blue: a "timeless and enduring blue hue."

"We are living in a time that requires trust and faith," said Pantone Color Institute executive director Leatrice Eiseman, in a massive understatement. "It is this kind of constancy and confidence that is expressed by PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue, a solid and dependable blue hue we can always rely on."
It's worth noting that Pantone regularly uses its Color of the Year announcement to make subtle comments about the state of the world. 2018's Ultra Violet choice could be linked to both LGBTQ equality and an advocacy group for women's rights known as Ultraviolet, for instance, while 2019's Living Coral appeared to carry an environmental message.
Pantone stated in the announcement that Classic Blue was emblematic of stability, peace and protection — all things that have felt in very short supply this year.
"Imbued with a deep resonance, Classic Blue provides an anchoring foundation," said Eiseman. "A boundless blue evocative of the vast and infinite evening sky, Classic Blue encourages us to look beyond the obvious to expand our thinking; challenging us to think more deeply, increase our perspective and open the flow of communication."

We'll definitely need a lot of resilience going into 2020, even if these connotations feel more like hopeful aspirations than accurate predictions of what lies ahead in the new year. Still, it's imperative that we not wrap ourselves in calming Classic Blue and hide from reality, but take action to change the destructive direction we're heading.

Though Pantone restricted its praise for Classic Blue to its clean simplicity and calming nature, some noted that blue also has political connotations. 2020 is an election year, after all.

Obviously we have no way of knowing whether the color choice carries a political significance or not – but it would certainly have been interesting to be a fly on the Pantone office wall when they were discussing which color choice to make...

https://mashable.com/article/pantone-color-of-the-year-2020-classic-blue/