Pantone has recently announced its Color of the Year for 2023, “Viva Magenta,” part of what it is calling the “Magentaverse.” The color and color set is meant to draw inspiration from nature but also act as a nod to the new digital age.

Color of the Year

Pantone’s Color of the Year is a tradition that has run for 23 years, but the Pantone system is much older, dating back to 1963.

The Pantone Color System is arguably the most important color-matching system in the world. Its ease of use allows for a simple way to classify, communicate, and match colors with the use of its fan format catalog.

Over the past 40 years, the system has found use cases in the development of paints, textiles, and plastics — becoming the go-to for the design industry.

One of its most significant Color of the Year selections was 2022, “Very Peri 17-3938.” Its significance stems from the fact that it is the very first Color of the Year to be created specifically for the annual occasion, whereas every other year the color was selected from Pantone’s existing catalog.

The reason for its creation was to highlight and celebrate the way the world and the lives of individuals had changed due to the pandemic, as well as the expansion of collective creativity.

Viva Magenta

As for 2023, “Viva Magenta,” was selected as the Color of the Year — part of a broader set Pantone is calling “the Magentaverse.” Colors found in the Magentaverse include Pale Dogwood, Gray Sand, Gray Lilac, and more.

Viva Magenta specifically was inspired by the cochineal, a 0.2-inch-long beetle, which is native to the Armenian Highlands and displays a bright red exterior that it uses to blend in with like colored fruits and flowers in the region, according to reports from FastCompany.

Despite other species like it going extinct, the cochineal has managed to survive for over a millennia, which VP of the Pantone Color Institute Laurie Pressman likens to the beetle showing us how to survive. During the 2023’s Color of the Year announcement, she shared that “that hardened shell speaks of bravery and fearlessness that many of us acquired over the last two years.”

“In this age of technology, we look to draw inspiration from nature and what is real,” shared Pantone Color Institute Executive Director Leatrice Eiseman, adding that “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.

She went on to share that “Rooted in the primordial, PANTONE 18-1750 Viva Magenta reconnects us to original matter. Invoking the forces of nature, PANTONE 18-1750 Viva Magenta galvanizes our spirit, helping us to build our inner strength.”

An unconventional shade for an unconventional time:
a new vision. Color of the Year 2023: PANTONE 18-1750 Viva Magenta

Vibrating with vim and vigor, a shade rooted in nature descending from the red family demonstrating a new signal of strength.https://t.co/vxEQlBykRT#Pantone pic.twitter.com/pRIP6bI2NH

— PANTONE (@pantone) December 2, 2022

Viva Magenta in NFTs

Hues found in Pantone’s Magentaverse have already begun to make their way into the worlds of fashion, design, art, the metaverse, and NFTs.

Some recent examples can be found in works from a variety of artists in the Web3 space, including names like Reuben Wu, Alpha Centauri Kid, Rik Oostenbroek, and more.

Jenni and I are so honoured to have “Metamorphe: Taste” acquired by the official @Ledger art collection. Many thanks to @jmpailhon for curating the works ? pic.twitter.com/sPipT33AiK

— Reuben Wu (@Reuben_Wu) December 1, 2022

“The Muse”

… a thread pic.twitter.com/7mMW17rcgl

— Alpha Centauri Kid (@lphaCentauriKid) November 9, 2022

Good vibes GM. pic.twitter.com/vSb3W1tDu0

— Rik Oostenbroek (@RikOostenbroek) November 11, 2022

Viva Magenta “gives you a feeling of lightness, like we’re walking into a new path, a new world,” shared Pressman, adding “we can start writing a new narrative.”

Pantone’s color of the Year reminds us to keep nature and its inspirations at the forefront of our new digital world, even as technology expands at its fastest rate in human history.

In other news, see how Ledger plans to power the NFT revolution with a curated art collection.