12/10/10

color | honeysuckle pink | pantone color of the year

color authority, pantone, named honeysuckle pink the color of the year for 2011.  pantone provides professional color standards for the design industries.



















honeysuckle pink
pantone color of the year for 2011 
photos by pantone.com

according to tom mirabile, head of global trends and design at lifetime brands inc., a kitchen products company, honeysuckle pink is '...a very 'mad men' pink...it's like the lipstick our mothers wore...there's a retro aspect to it that's going to be very popular.'

mad men | don and rachel | 1960's costumes by janie bryant
photo by carin baer

red tones have been the pantone color of the year for five out of the last twelve years.  and, for four out of the last twelve years, the pantone color of the year has alternated between reds and greens.

considering the repetition, pantone's criteria for choosing the color of the year could be more commercial than directional or evolutionary.

in addition, spring 2011 merchandise is already in production.  so, the pantone color of the year could influence marketing and merchandising more than product development.



















pantone colors of the year for 2000-2010
2000 cerulean blue 2001 fuchsia rose 2002 true red 2003 aqua sky 2004 tigerlily 2005 blue turquoise 2006 sand dollar 2007 chili pepper 2008 blue iris 2009 mimosa 2010 turquoise
photo by wsj.com

pink is a marketable color for many design industries, but it may not be the most commercial color for the interior design industry.

interior designers whose signature is their bold use of color have created pink rooms.  new york interior designer jamie drake created a widely publicized pink bedroom for the 2007 kips bay decorator show house.







pink bedroom | 2007 kips bay decorator show house | drake design associates | new york NY
photo by nick johnson

and, interior designer miles redd created a pink and red living room for his new york town house that has also attracted much media attention.

pink and red living room | miles redd | new york NY

even san francisco interior designer jay jeffers, who is better known for subtle, luxurious details than for the use of bold colors, painted the walls in his edwardian home coral and accented the design scheme with pink furniture and accessories.





























coral and pink living room | jeffers design group | san francisco CA
photo by grey crawford

but, interior designers more frequently use bright colors to accent neutral color schemes.  ned marshall accented the rich chocolate and warm limestone entry hall of a new orleans home with a pink settee.





























pink settee | entry hall | ned marshall | new orleans LA

and, pink pillows, along with the palest pink window coverings, energize the white on white sunroom, designed by melanie turner for the 2010 atlanta decorators' showhouse.

  



























pink pillows and window coverings | sunroom | 2010 atlanta decorators' show house | turner davis interiors | atlanta GA

'the new hue for 2011', a 9 december 2010 wall street journal article, quoted interior and housewares designer jonathan adler, whose 2011 collections feature pink.  even though he supposedly doesn't follow design trends, he thinks that 'there's an innate optimism to pink.' 











large kaleidescope pillow in pink | jonathan adler
photos by jonathan adler.com

color psychologist leatrice eiseman, executive director of the pantone color institute, describes honeysuckle pink as a color 'to lift our spirits'.  so, feeling optimistic about 2011 could be one reason that pantone named honeysuckle pink the color of the year. 

does pink make you feel optimistic?
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