Pantone® and the Pantone Color Institute™ have named PANTONE 16-1546 Living Coral as their Color of the Year for 2019. Described as “an animated and life-affirming coral hue with a golden undertone that energizes and enlivens with a softer edge,” Living Coral is a striking colour choice that will undoubtedly find its way into much of the design, décor and fashion that debuts in the year ahead.

Every year since 2000, Pantone has chosen a specific Color of the Year by looking at trends in technology, art, entertainment, fashion and more. And though Pantone states that the colour choice reflects the world’s current culture and creativity, there’s no denying that it will affect that culture and creativity in return. Living Coral is already in high demand for paint colours, clothing pieces and consumer products like water bottles.

It’s also likely to prove to be quite a political choice, as climate change finally moves to the forefront of everyone’s attention. Our planet is changing, with stronger storms and more intense weather becoming the norm. Our oceans are warming, and the life within them are beginning to feel the effects—namely, coral. With entire reefs bleaching and dying off, Living Coral is a reminder that it’s time to act.

Pantone is likely best known to designers and artists for its Pantone Matching System (PMS), a standardized colour reproduction system adopted by businesses across multiple industries. This ensures that no matter how many designers, printers or manufacturers a project changes hands through, the outputted colours of a final product will match the original creator’s intentions.

Here at The Packaging Company, we’re big fans of show-stopping colours and finding any excuse to use them. That’s why we’ve added Living Coral, Pantone’s Color of the Year 2019, to our custom packaging designers in our custom packaging shop. Whether you use it for a fun, one-time celebration of this stunning colour, or bring it into your overall packaging design, you’ll find Living Coral swatches in the following designers:

You can also use HEX #FF6D70 or CMYK 0 59 50 0 as approximate colour values in our other designers:

We’re excited to see what you create with Living Coral, Pantone’s Color of the Year 2019!