Classic Blue – Pantone Color of the Year 2020

We are more than halfway through the year and boy, has it been difficult for everyone in the world.

When the Pantone Color Institute picked Classic Blue for 2020, people wondered if it had anything to do with when they first started in 2000, and their first color was Cerulean, also known as “color of the millennium.” There may be some truth in that. Back in 2000, they picked a color that was reminiscent of the sky. Laurie Pressman, VP of the Pantone Color Institute at the time said, “We were moving into Y2K and wondering: Is the world going to fall apart?”

Pantone Color Institute has a big task. Since 2000, they have been picking the color of the year based on research of world trends spanning all industries and forecasting what the world needs next.

Fast forward to 2020, PANTONE Color 19-4052 Classic Blue is reminiscent of the sky at dusk.

Could they have predicted the world was going to suffer from a pandemic? Maybe it wasn’t the pandemic specifically that they predicted, however, they did feel the world was undergoing a similar feeling of instability and uncertainty as 2000.

The PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue shade promotes reassurance, confidence and connection.

Everyone had high hopes for entering the new decade by naming 2020, “The Year of Clear Vision.”

Now, perhaps it still is because we, the human race, are having to adapt to this new way of life and in a way, that brings clarity that we didn’t have before.

Below are some examples: 

• Companies that didn’t have remote work set up are figuring out that it is possible to have staff work remotely with the technology available.
• People are spending more time calling their loved ones on the phone or through FaceTime than they did before.
• Meditation and self-care are two themes that are extremely popular this year.

We don’t know what color Pantone will pick next year; however, we think it’s important to remember what Classic Blue stands for.

So we will be resilient, calm, thought-provoking, and confident. And we will persevere and make it through this pandemic, from one small business to another.