Pantone Color of the Year: The 2021 Selections Are Gray and Illuminating

The Pantone color of the year for 2021 is officially here.

Except, the color authority has announced not one but two hues—both of which were preliminarily identified by Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, just as the coronavirus had started crossing borders and prompting quarantines. A number of selections aside, the main news is that it’s time to meet Pantone 17-5104 Ultimate Gray and Pantone 13-0647 Illuminating.

Ultimate Gray represents the practical, resilient mindset demanded by the pandemic, while its sunshiny counterpart expresses optimism for the future. Yet Eiseman would not rush her team’s final decision, which will be announced this evening at a digital broadcast at Artechouse in Manhattan. “Particularly in a time like this, when we face the same colors every day in sequestration, we wanted to be sure of the selection,” the expert states to AD PRO.