Pantone welcomes the world to the Magentaverse with Viva Magenta

2022 is a year of transition, from a world reeling against the outbreak of a vicious virus to a world surviving and persevering in it, from inhabiting physical spaces to engaging with digital ones, and from moving away from passive responses and towards active and agitated reactions and retaliations. As this year comes to a close, we must also move past the transitory phase and onto a new landscape, to our envisioned existence, with renewed energy. Echoing this thought, Pantone unveils Viva Magenta as the Color of the Year 2023 and welcomes everyone to the Magentaverse, where the real world intersects with the virtual world.

"The last few years were transformative in many ways. As a result, space has been created where we are free to explore and be accepted for exactly who we feel we are, whether it be in a cybernetic universe, a conventional space, or a magical blend of both. We are creating a dynamic world that encourages experimentation, one that leverages the virtual within the physical realm and emboldens our strength and spirit to explore groundbreaking possibilities,” said Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute.

The bold and unconventional hue beckons one to be brave and fearless, to choose atypical paths, and carve new journeys. Lifted from the red family, Viva Magenta, with its electrifying aura, signals strength, energy, and vigour, and encourages one to persevere against all odds. Elley Cheng, Vice President & General Manager at Pantone reiterates this thought in her statement, "Color of the Year 2023 is a call to courage. It is an invitation for us to experiment."

Every year, since 1999, Pantone explores the unanimous moods, feelings, and aspirations of people across the globe, in an attempt to encourage conversations on and around colour. They scavenge for clues—from people, from the world of art, entertainment, new technologies, car design, fashion and the cosmetic industry, as well as social and political issues—to grasp a congruent temperament that dominates the global climate. These inferences are then visually communicated with the Color of the Year by Pantone.

Citing colour as one of the easiest and simplest mediums of self-expression, Elley Cheng shares, "Colour has the power to influence. Colour can make a statement. Colour is a way to make a connection. Colour can be symbolic of our times. It is this connection between colour and culture that the Colour of the Year program captures. With the colour selection every year, we try to have it represent the attitude, lifestyle, and dreams across the world in a given moment in time.”

Pantone 18-1750 Viva Magenta is a balanced hue, embodying the warmth of red and yellow and the coolness of blue, reflecting, hence, the diversity and multiplicity of ideas, thoughts, visions, styles, and approaches that co-exist in this world. “Viva Magenta is a pulsating red whose exuberance promotes optimism and joy. Powerful and empowering, it is a shade that encourages experimentation and self-expression without restraint,” states Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of Pantone Color Institute, in an online press conference on November 2, 2022. Although Viva Magenta is predicated to make a presence across all disciplines of art, design, and fashion, the hue seems most suited to digital spaces.

Beyond its imagery, it is the inspiration behind Viva Magenta that further enhances its messaging. Leatrice Eiseman explains, “Rooted in a long history, Viva Magenta is inspired by the red of cochineal dyes, some of the most precious pigments that emerge from the beetles that produce the colourant. These fearless little creatures with their beautifully coloured protective shells have managed to survive through the ages. They are symbolic of the determination that galvanises their spirits in difficult times, inspiring us to build our inner strengths."

Funnelling the ethos that defines Viva Magenta, Pantone collaborated with its longtime creative partner Huge to examine the relationship between modern technology and human creativity. With the help of the AI generative tool Midjourney, the team crafted an immersive universe that explores the relationship between nature and technology by incorporating the messages and ideas symbolised by the colour Pantone 18-1750 Viva Magenta. The primary image, an audacious and brave visual, coloured with Viva Magenta, serves as an invitation to explore the Magentaverse, a limitless new ecosystem.

In order to expand on this trial and offer a peek into the Magentaverse, Pantone and Huge teamed up with New York-based interactive art museum ARTECHOUSE, to create a unique immersive experience, which will remain on view at the museum’s Miami outpost during Art Basel Miami. The exhibition features objects and installations that immerse visitors in a variety of visual, auditory, and tactile experiences, all in lieu of the spirit of Viva Magenta.

Pantone also forecasted seven thematic colour palettes—for the year ahead—that are congruent with our concurrent lifestyles and realities, the shift towards sustainability, and the emergence of digital art. Ranging from chromatic visuals to earthy tones, and robotic shades to timeless neutrals, the palettes encapsulate the dichotomy of existing in monotonous environments and seeking highly charged experiences—a state of being that fittingly defines our recent realities. The Pantone team, in their research, identified a resurgence of quirky, colourful, vibrant, and psychedelic aesthetics, perhaps as a result of the escalating exposure to virtual forms of entertainment. Other dominating palettes forecasted by Pantone include dark-hued tones evocative of medieval scapes, earthy tones and colours that serve as reminders of semi-tropical shores, all of which gratify the urge to escape. Classy shades are predicted to be accompanied by red, bottle green, pink and other electrifying accents, shaping hence a world of unexpected realities.