“I’m old school and still have my pantone swatch books and refer to them all the time,” says Juan Plaza, VP of Design at Red Thinking.

Plaza adds that “fanning through the colors is therapeutic in a way that it feels familiar and I can get lost in it and eliminate distractions. After so many years, I know what color sets come after one another but I don’t see the book as a static set of colors. While the colors in my book are always the same, what I bring to every search within it is different. A different challenge, a different mood, a new perspective.

“Colors I overlook one day all of a sudden stand out. To me finding the perfect color or palette is about creating or feeling a mood. Its not an exact science, you just feel it. This one is too cool, this one is too warm, this one is just right. So having a color of the year to me represents what I love about color. The power to influence. We live in a world of influencers now so i appreciate all the thought process and planning that goes into selecting one that we can all celebrate in a collective mood together.”

According to a Red Thinking blog post, the 2023 color is described by Pantone as “vibrating with vim and vigor,” Viva Magenta 18-1750 is further described as “brave and fearless, and a pulsating color whose exuberance promotes a joyous and optimistic celebration, writing a new narrative.”

Red Thinking states that the process to determine each year’s color “is steeped in secrecy. Twice each year Pantone’s Color Institute hosts a group of color representatives in Europe, most of whom hold positions at various national color standards groups. The meeting is secret. It lasts for two days, during which the group gives presentations and debates.

The person behind the color of the year is the Executive Director of the Color Institute, Leatrice Eiseman. In a recent interview, she explained the choice of 2023’s Viva Magenta “In this age of technology, we look to draw inspiration from nature and what is real. “Viva Magenta descends from the red family, and is inspired by the red of cochineal, one of the most precious dyes belonging to the natural dye family as well as one of the strongest and brightest the world has known.” Pantone said its 2023 Color of the Year is powerful and empowering — a new animated red that revels in pure joy, encouraging experimentation and self-expression without restraint. It’s an electrifying and boundary-less shade that manifests itself as a stand-out statement.

You can read the full blog post here.

Red Thinking, a Capitol Communicator sponsor, is a marketing agency specializing in branding, graphic design, print and digital advertising, website development and SEO.