The Return of Mellow Yellow?
Yellow, we're told, is back. But not just any yellow. One dubbed Mimosa by color authority Pantone, which has made it the firm's pick for Color of the Year for 2009, embodying as it does "hopefulness and reassurance in a climate of change."
Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, tells us that "The color yellow exemplifies the warmth and nurturing quality of the sun, properties we as humans are naturally drawn to for reassurance. Mimosa also speaks to enlightenment, as it is a hue that sparks imagination and innovation." Yes, it's not much of a stretch to associate yellow with the sun, and who doesn't like the sun? However, connections to enlightenment, imagination and innovation are somewhat more tenuous. Well, I guess you could see Dorothy's journey to the Emerald City of Oz via the Yellow Brick Road as a metaphor...
Or it might be that we like yellow for another reason, as expressed by Aristotle: "Yellow-colored objects appear to be gold.” Indeed, one man's Mimosa is another man's gold, the love of which, we are taught, is the root of all evil. That's certainly the current cultural context, in which unalloyed greed has brought the entire world to its knees. From that perspective, perhaps Mimosa would have been a better fit for 2008?
However, Pantone is bullish on its golden choice: "Look for women's accessories, home furnishings, active sportswear and men's ties and shirts in this vibrant hue." Shirts? I'll be looking, you can count on me. Last year's choice was Blue Iris, which apparently "brings together the dependable aspects of blue, underscored by a strong, soul-searching purple cast." What do you think, did that color nail the spirit of 2008 or what?
Chris Dickman
Graphics.com | Also blogging on Photos.com
Pantone can be so full of themselves sometime when they try to justify color.
Mimosa? The flowers on a Mimosa Tree are pink (in the generic and in the US). Looks more like the Mimosa they had for the breakfast meeting while coming up with the color of the year.
Dude, Textile swatches? Your printer must love you. ;) Cute article though.
Chris Dickman responds: Yup, PANTONE matching is used for lots of things beyond print production. Mimosa can be purchased as a paint color, for example, so your entire office could be this cosy shade... And yes, there's lots of yellow mimosa out there.
I think that PANTONE's Mimosa is the perfect color of a Mimosa cocktail which is made of fresh Orange Juice and Champagne. Enjoying a Mimosa cocktail is a great way to spark enlightenment, imagination and innovation.
Cheers!
It's nice to know that school buses will be stylish in 2009.
Why does 'mimosa' come so close to being just a chartreuse variant ... ? That "hopefulness and reassurance in a climate of change" stuff sure sounds like they're trying to cover their political bases, too. This needs to be filed under 'who cares?' or 'bonfire of the vanities' ...