Magenta is the color of the year. Here's the story behind who decided and why

In 2023, we won't need rose-colored glasses to see the world. More precise than rose, the 'it' color for 2023 is Pantone 18-1750 Viva Magenta, which is close to the extremely vivid color scheme of the 2022 Valentino Autumn Winter collection seen here... it also even anticipated this summer's pinkified Barbie craze!

We don't make the decisions, we're just the messengers. And when it comes to color, Pantone is the highest authority.

Photo: Pantone

What exactly is Pantone? Well, the Pantone Matching System is used to identify, match and communicate standardized colors for graphic design and printing. It has 2,161 different colors.

The company also owns the Pantone Color Institute, which is basically the world's leading authority on color. It is the go-to source for color trends, forecasts and insights and helps businesses make informed decisions about color choices.

The bottom line is, Pantone sets the standards for color, and this year its experts have spoken: Viva Magenta is the color of 2023!

Photo: Pantone via Facebook

"In this age of technology, we look to draw inspiration from nature and what is real. Pantone 18-1750 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," said Pantone Color Institute Executive Director Leatrice Eiseman.

According to Pantone, Viva Magenta is deeply rooted in nature. It descends from the red family and expresses strength. Viva Magenta is a bold, fearless and vibrant color that promotes joyful and optimistic celebration. It's the beginning of a new chapter.

Photo: pantone/ Instagram

The" Color of the year is powerful and empowering. It is an animated red that revels in pure joy, encouraging experimentation and self-expression without restraint, an electrifying, and a boundless shade that is manifesting as a stand-out statement. PANTONE 18-1750 Viva Magenta welcomes anyone and everyone with the same verve for life and rebellious spirit. It is a color that is audacious, full of wit and inclusive of all," according to Pantone.

Pantone got its start in New Jersey in the 1950s as a commercial printing company called M & J Levine Advertising. One of the company's earliest employees, Lawrence Herbert, used his chemistry knowledge to simplify the company's stock of pigments.

At the time, colors were not standardized, which was a real headache for printers, who didn't always achieve the correct tone.

An example? Take Kodak, whose packaging featured a very distinctive yellow, but the shades varied depending on where it was printed.

This inconsistency caused a loss in sales because some of the more wonky shades of yellow/orange led customers to believe that the product was a knock-off or expired.

By 1962, Herbert was running the profitable ink and printing division at the New Jersey business while other parts of the company were in heavy debt. So, he bought the company's tech assets for $50,000 from one of the founders and named the spin-off "Pantone."

In 1963, Pantone introduced the Pantone Matching System, a standardized color communication system with 500 colors. From then on, companies and printers could be sure they were getting one of 500 precise tones.

Pantone has become so widespread that many countries decided to use the Pantone system to set the color of their flags. Canada and South Korea are two examples.

Pantone's first color of the year was chosen in the year 2000. The color to get it all going was Cerulean (Pantone 15-4020), a shade of blue often favored by Queen Elizabeth. Last year, the color of the year was the purple tone: Very Peri (Pantone 17-3938).

At its core, the color of the year serves to inspire businesses, artists and designers who want to stay on trend with their products and branding.

Given the weight of the color of the year, you can expect to see the color popping up in the hottest makeup palettes, consumer goods, interior design and, of course, fashion.

Photo: pantone/Instagram

It's a pretty intense process to choose the color of the year. It takes two annual meetings of 40 color experts who select candidate colors that have already been trending in marketing, art and fashion. The choices also draw inspiration from what's happening in the world so that it represents the current cultural climate.

Photo: pantone/Instagram

Critics and fans note viva magenta's deep links to AI and social media. The New York Times was not a fan, describing it as "the color no one asked for, coming to a world where no one lives." One reporter notes how similar the color is to TikTok's follow and upload buttons.

Image: aronsogi/TikTok

The results of the meeting are published in Pantone View. There, you can learn more about not only the color but the entire palette surrounding it.