2024 Colors of the Year and Lighting

One of the most confounding questions to which I am asked to comment, regards the annual “Color of the Year” announcements. For years, the only “Color of the Year” I ever regarded was that predicted by Pantone. Because Pantone spans colors across multiple industries, it would find itself in fabric, ads, clothing, print/graphics, wall coverings and accessories. Finding some relevance in a single “color” and how it might manifest itself across twelve months was somewhat self-explanatory. As it relates to lighting, virtually none of the “colors” resulted in a luminaire finish trend. Impact was much more subtle.

Today, “Color of the Year” is considerably different. Pantone still releases a prediction, but a few years ago, the paint industry decided to jump into the fray. Most had a dominant annual color prior, but with the addition of increased marketing dollars, these started to grab more media attention. The yearly press release is no longer restricted to industry publications, but mass media has now embraced the concept and eagerly awaits the prognostication. There lies the rub.

Let’s look at the six primary “Color of the Year” for 2024. (There are, unfortunately, more.) I’ve listed them here in a specific order for easier comment below.

1. Pantone – Apricot Crush – a fleshy, apricot tone
2. Sherwin-Williams – Persimmon – a pale orange tone
3. Glidden – “Limitless” – a pale, soft yellow
4. Valspar – Renew Blue – a pale transition between blue and green
5. Dutch Boy – “Ironside” – a dark grey-green blend
6. Behr – Cracked Pepper – a dark grey, almost black tone

What can we observe here? The first two are variations of washed out, pale orange, the Glidden and Valspar colors are also pale, but instead yellow and blue-green. Seeing these alone, we might be inclined to observe a pastel takeover; a quiet approach rather than anything that might ruffle feathers. We will have a year where color is non-confrontational.

Now let’s add Ironside (presumably, no connection to Raymond Burr) and Cracked Pepper. Out of left-field a drab Army grey-green and an almost black color are added. How does this comport with the others? Are these the anti-pastel options America needs?

I understand Pantone’s Apricot Crush and S-W’s Persimmon. Designers love orange in all its variants. It’s a color that is used less than others and because of that, almost always seems fresh. We often think about yellow being bright and shiny, so Glidden’s shift to a milky version also appears new. Blue has been the accent color of choice in kitchens for about six years. I’ve been predicting a shift to a variant of green. This is a learned option that could easily predict a not too subtle shift and extend a kitchen accent color a few more years. As designers use darker and darker wall finishes, it seems natural for Behr and Dutch Boy to promote darker tones to prominence. They are after all trying to sell wall paint to consumers and both of these brands are in the popular-priced category.

In the hands of consumer good specialists, not typical homeowners, the Pantone color could be helpful in defining their product lines. Related industries, like residential lighting would know that substantial amounts of household accessories would use the tone. This featured color would be used across related industries and would visually benchmark the introduction to a specific era. I would always tell people who asked, that the decorative lighting finish would need to “play well” with the coming “Color of the Year” and it has.

In 2015 Pantone defined Emerald as their choice for the year. In 2017 it was Greenery. At the time, Oil Rubbed Bronze was the dominant lighting finish and it worked well with these annual choices. The secondary decorative luminaire finish at the time was Brushed Nickel and the 2014 and 2015 “Colors of the Year” were Radiant Orchid and Marsala (a sort of wine-red) that likewise felt comfortable and could easily be seen sharing a living space. When Natural Brass began to build momentum, similar observations could be made with 2021’s Illuminated, a buttery yellow and Living Coral from 2019. Ever-present Chrome shined with the bold statements expressed in 2018 with Ultra Violet and 2020’s Classic Blue. It all made sense and could be used and explained.

That logic has now disappeared. A friend of mine is a retired Public Relations executive who had knowledge of the paint industry and he continually reminds me that, “They are just trying to sell more paint.” He also reminded me that Valspar and Dutch Boy are Sherwin-Williams brands, so which “Color of the Year” is the real “Color of the Year?” There can only be one king. With the addition of all these variations, I believe he is right. Gun-to-head, I’d suggest paying attention to the Pantone color because it crossed so many industry lines. The declarations provided by the paint manufacturers might be better regarded within the same parameters as my friend’s.