Pantone’s Color of the Year 2023 and Why it Matters?

In 2022, Pantone’s official color of the year was Very Peri, with code 17-3938. For 2023, Pantone have chosen Viva Magenta (18-1750), which the company describes as a vigorous and vibrant shade that exudes nature. The color descends from the red color branch and signifies new strength for the new year. It is an embodiment of writing a fresh narrative, as Pantone put it.

Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, explained that the hue was inspired by the natural red dye derived from small insects called cochineals.

Pantone has had an officially designated color of the year since 2000, or nearly a quarter of a century. Each of those annual colors received support with inspirational color palettes and associated products, as shown in the Pantone Marketplace.

Since Pantone perceives color as a form of language and communication, their color of the year sets the tone for 365 days with regards to how Pantone approaches target audiences such as photographers, graphic artists, beauty products, home decoration and design, industrial design, and many others. Pantone is de facto the official guide to color usage in all industries, and the color of the year gets extra attention from professionals everywhere.

For Viva Magenta, its importance lies in offering an alternative to the traditional red shades products refer to and usually end up employing. The new shade and the attention given to it may help refresh offerings available to professionals and consumers. The Pantone Color Institute hopes that by designating an annual color they may encourage new ways of communication with color. 

Pantone offers a range of products and services to help creative professionals define, communicate, and control color. All of these are based on a system created by the Pantone Color Institute, known as the Pantone Color Matching System. This system was developed to provide universal reference to a world of color, ensuring greater accuracy and consistency. It forms the backbone of Pantone’s “color as a language” approach, because anyone can refer to the matching system and incorporate it in their work. This is why professionals look for monitors that are tested and approved by Pantone, as these displays maintain accuracy when judged based on the Pantone system. Such monitors are factory calibrated using the Pantone catalog, and in 2023 will properly depict Viva Magenta. BenQ takes great care to make sure AQCOLOR monitors are perfectly in tune with Pantone standards across the entire color matching system. All of them are Pantone Validated, and BenQ also had the world’s first Pantone SkinTone Validate monitors, designed to depict human skin tones with utmost realism. 

Pantone Connect Premium provides access to over 15,000 Pantone colors from a host of devices, including your smartphone. It helps ensure consistency and accuracy in branding, fashion, and product design. Pantone Connect Premium works as a service suite with a subscription that includes a web portal, mobile app, and integration with Adobe Creative Cloud apps via plugin extensions. New colors (including Viva Magenta) become available via Pantone Connect Premium as they’re added by the Pantone Color Institute.

You can access Pantone Connect Premium with all available tools and assets free for one year when you purchase a BenQ SW or PD series monitor. The offer is also available to existing owners of these displays.