'The global zeitgeist of the moment': Very Peri is Pantone Color of the Year 2022

Pantone's selection of its Color of the Year 2022 is a "dynamic periwinkle blue hue" expressed as a hue of a carefree confidence and a daring curiosity. The shade dubbed Very Peri as per the global colour authority places the future ahead in a new light.

Following up on the selection of colours from the last two years — the cheerful yellow of Illuminating and the much-composed Ultimate Grey from 2021, and the dusky sky-like Classic Blue from 2020 — Very Peri encapsulates our collective response to the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The colour signifies a release from an intense period of isolation and the exposure to blurred boundaries between physical and digital worlds.

"We are living in transformative times. PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri is a symbol of the global zeitgeist of the moment and the transition we are going through. […] With trends in gaming, the expanding popularity of the metaverse and rising artistic community in the digital space PANTONE® 17-3938 Very Peri illustrates the fusion of modern life and how colour trends in the digital world are being manifested in the physical world and vice versa,” the company explains.

Created for the first time in the history of Pantone, the bold new hue combines 'a dynamic periwinkle blue colour with a vivifying violet red undertone'. Described as the happiest and warmest of all the blue hues, as per Pantone, Very Peri blends the faithfulness and constancy of blue with the energy and excitement of red.

"Encompassing the qualities of the blues, yet at the same time possessing a violet-red undertone, PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri displays a spritely, joyous attitude and dynamic presence that encourages courageous creativity and imaginative expression,” says Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director, Pantone Color Institute. “As we move into a world of unprecedented change, Very Peri brings a novel perspective and vision of the trusted and beloved blue colour family."

For Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute, Very Peri reflects the changing scene of our global culture, and it evokes what people are looking for and which the soft purple hue can hope to answer. The experts at the Pantone Color Institute decide the colour each year after combing the world looking for new colour influences and inspiration. The idea behind choosing an entirely new shade for 2022 is, Pressman relays in an official press release: "Creating a new colour for the first time in the history of our Pantone Color of the Year educational colour program reflects the global innovation and transformation taking place. As society continues to recognise colour as a critical form of communication and as a way to express and affect ideas and emotions and engage and connect, the complexity of this new red-violet-infused blue hue highlights the expansive possibilities that lie before us.”

Expressing itself in diverse mediums, Very Peri is already in trends as it is finding unique expressions and diverse applications across textiles, fashion, interior design and graphic design, and seems it's here to stay.