It’s here! Pantone’s Colour of the Year was just announced last week.
If you follow interior design and trends, likely, you read somewhere this week that Veri Peri has been named Pantone’s Colour of the year. Of course, many influential designers and paint companies are happy to share their specific color of the year, but without a doubt, Pantone’s announcement has the most clout, and here is why.

In 1963 Pantone became the world’s foremost colour matching system in the world. Having a colour authority standardized internationally helped solve many dilemmas, especially at that time, for the printing industries. Because various companies in other countries often print different branding materials. A standardized matching system helped buyers and vendors ensure that traded products would remain consistent in hue and shade amongst products and materials.
Pantone subscribes to specific colour codes, which allow us to define and replicate colour with certainty. Textiles, plastics, paints, and designs all use Pantone’s colour matching technology. Many industries have adapted and utilized these codes in the last 40 years, including most recently, the electronics industry utilizes these color codes on gaming, illustration, and digital branding screens.
Historically, Pantone looks to a multitude of industries, trends, art, culture, social-economical conditions, and even politics when choosing the colour of the year. This year, nothing in the world is ordinary, so it makes sense that Pantone has created this color specifically for this year. Today the world is in a period of enormous transition. We are all suffering from COVID fatigue. Colour memory is something we all share, and although we share unique colour memories, there are some characteristics in colours that are familiar to us all. For example, my colour memory of periwinkle is of a favorite suit I wore on my honeymoon with my husband almost 25 years ago in France. It was a happy time. I was young and beautiful, and the color evokes heady and joyful memories.
December is always a long and dark month. Short winter days make us long for light and the warmth of sunshine. Periwinkle is the colour of the crocuses that bloom in early spring and are one of the first signs of hope and joy we experience as the days grow longer and spring emerges.
Periwinkle feels bold and social, powerful and full of hope; all needed qualities in uncertain turbulent times. It can be whimsical and elegant to navigate timelessly between people of different eras.
A blending of both red and blue represents bonding and is said to be the colour of friendship. It is lighthearted and means a bit of fun, in a time we couldn’t need it more.
Businesses will strive to incorporate Veri Peri into their branding, the goods they manufacture, which will appear in the goods we see on our shelves. We will see it in fashion and in housewares, paint, wallpaper, and textures.
Veri Peri may feel overwhelmingly brave for those who favour a neutral palate or are afraid of color. Still, it is a very forgiving and easy colour to incorporate into almost any décor. Being a heavily saturated colour, even the most minor items, candles, vases, and pillows can bring a bit of this latest trend into your home without feeling overly colourful.
Periwinkle works beautifully with cool water tones such as blues and greens, adds a touch of excitement to soft neutrals such as pinks and beiges, and is vibrant enough to hold its own with other brights such as
turquoise and coral, and lime. If you want to incorporate a touch of this colour into your existing colour scheme without having it look out of place, think about your repeat. By this, I mean to bring it in using more than just one item, ideally use 3, which will make it feel intentioned, and your room pulled together.
What is your colour memory of periwinkle?
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