Pantone Color Institute held a webinar on December 13, 2012, moderated by Laurie Pressman, who is the Vice President of Fashion, Home, and Interiors at Pantone. The webinar was focused on the 2013 Pantone color of the year, emerald (Pantone 17-5641).
Pantone searched the world to find this color. Emerald was the obvious choice because it’s found everywhere. It reflects nature and blends in. The presence of green slows stress hormones and helps the heart relax. Emerald depicts radiance, sophistication, luxury, elegance, prosperity, beauty, and life. It enhances a sense of well-being and promotes balance and harmony. It can be used in fashion, beauty, décor, and design.
Pantone found this color in furnishings for commercial and residential interiors, textiles, stone, tile, ceramics, glassware, small appliances, lighting, ads, automotive, and signage. They even found it in fashion, from mainstream to the catwalk and the red carpet. High-end jewelry, handbags, shoes, and beauty products have also incorporated emerald in their products.
As you can see, emerald is popular in a variety of products. Pantone also looked to the past for historical reference and found it in Gone with the Wind and Wizard of Oz. They found that Andy Warhol used emerald for entire portraits. Just seeing the importance of green historically and currently, made it easy for Pantone to select emerald as the color of the year.
