Pantone picks Radiant Orchid as the color of 2014

The Pantone Color Institute has crowned a pinkish purple hue as the Color of the Year. Radiant Orchid is on the opposite side of the color wheel from last year’s selection, Emerald.

“It’s a little different, it’s a little off the beaten path and it’s not a primary color… It’s an invitation to innovation,” says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director at Pantone Color Institute.

Radiant Orchid can be used effectively in interiors

Radiant Orchid’s encouragement of creativity is a natural fit with entrepreneurship, unconventional workspaces, and a shift from utility-oriented offices. Spaces that reflect a person’s personality, passions, and a connect to nature are going to be popular now, according to Eiseman.

For interiors, this shade of purple is best used in paint, accent pieces, and accessories, according to Pantone. Radiant Orchid complements olive and deeper hunter greens. Striking combinations result when it is paired with turquoise, teal, and light yellows.

Radiant Orchid also brightens neutral colors like beige, gray, and taupe. “It works very well in interiors, especially with off-white and natural beige colours,” says global trend analyst Milou Ket.

In addition to aesthetic appeal, color has therapeutic benefits. A color psychology study found that strong colors stimulate the brain, and that a judicious use of color will improve people’s moods.

Radiant Orchid is likely to be popular next year

Pantone’s color pick is part cultural indicator and part marketing forecast. The color-selection process begins in spring. Pantone’s color experts spot trends in the entertainment industry, popular travel destinations, technology, upcoming sports events, and other socio-economic conditions, according to the company.

Every year, Pantone polls fashion, graphic, industrial, and other designers, to find out what colors they plan to use in the coming season. Then, a color committee, which consists of Pantone executives and clients, chooses a color based on the survey results, color swatch sales, and their experts’ opinions.

Although designs for the year are already underway by the time Pantone unveils its Color of the Year, the pick is prophetic. By polling arbiters of culture and style  in advance, the company does manage to predict trends, and for the last couple of years, Pantone’s chosen colors did in fact do well in the coming season.