Things We Like: 2014 Color of the Year

Post by Kyle St. Romain.

Pantone recently announced its color of the year for 2014: Radiant Orchid, replacing Emerald from 2013. You can read Pantone’s spring 2014 fashion color report. Sherman Williams followed suit announcing a more muted shade of purple called “Exclusive Plum” as its color of the year.

It shouldn’t be too surprising that purple is the consensus color considering that these decisions are made after surveying designers, manufacturers, and retailers throughout the world about the colors they plan to use in the coming seasons. The color of the year is more a formal announcement of the direction that’s already been decided, not necessarily something taking the design world by surprise (even if it is news to the rest of us).

With the announcement of the new color, however, you’re sure to notice purples popping up in all sorts of unexpected places. Expect the fashion industry to showcase the “it” colors in their spring catalogs, and interior designers tend to do the same. A little tip I learned in my interior design class is to thumb through Neiman Marcus’ spring catalogs for inspiration on how to create a color palette with that year’s trendy colors. I’m sure this tip holds true for other retailers as well. You can also use Adobe’s Kuler app to create a stunning color palette effortlessly.

Here’s a sample of a compound color palette based off of Radiant Orchid.

While you may be hesitant to incorporate such a vibrant purple with your personal style, you shouldn’t be. Radiant orchid, and all shades of purple for that matter, is surprisingly versatile. Radiant Orchid looks great accented with rich golds, sea greens, whites, and other shades of purple. It’s also quite simple to add a splash of Radiant Orchid in your home using a freshly painted accent wall, newly upholstered furniture, bed sheets, or a bright new throw rug. Whatever it is, it won’t be hard to find almost anything household or fashion related in Radiant Orchid this year.

The only consideration left is: How you feel about the color? As a TCU alumni, I couldn’t be more thrilled that purple is the color of 2014. While Radiant Orchid isn’t the same deep purple as TCU’s, it is nonetheless a very acceptable to me. A lot of the clothing I own winds up being some shade of purple, and now I may seem a bit trendier (if only for a year). I hope you enjoy the color of 2014 as well. If not, there’s always 2015.

If you’d like to read more about upcoming color trends, be sure to check out Pantone’s Spring 2014 Fashion Color Report.

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