

Historically, purple has been underutilized commercially, treated as more of a supplemental, niche color. Image Credit: Left: Adobe Stock / hatthranit Osman, Right: Adobe Stock / Татьяна Леднева. The color was also unveiled digitally as well as the traditional swatch – a sign of the digital world firmly making its mark.

What began as a tech space color has become an aesthetic brands are adopting for everything from movie posters and album covers to product packaging and otherworldly haute couture. Soft blue combines with warm base notes of red to create this shade that illustrates depth, comfort, and balance. Very Peri’s purplish hue is associated with high-contrast gaming and technology and online spaces, and invokes the concept of the metaverse and our evolving relationship to it.

The pandemic has shifted our experiences online towards a primarily digital space, and the line between physical and virtual has blurred. According to Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the PANTONE Color Institute, “As we move into a world of unprecedented change, the selection of PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri brings a novel perspective and vision of the trusted and beloved blue color family, encompassing the qualities of the blues, yet at the same time with its violet red undertone, PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri displays a spritely, joyous attitude and dynamic presence that encourages courageous creativity and imaginative expressions.” This new color communicates a readiness for the future. Bubbles pop into tendrils of furry, fiber optic texture, undulating in an unseen current. Even Pantone's video short introducing the color evokes a sense of spritely whimsy. Very Peri mirrors our collective desire to get back a sense of play, fun, and hope.

Last year, Pantone’s two-color choice showed how uncertain the world felt going into 2021, but this year, we look towards something brand-new. The color unexpected – not unlike our transition into the world’s new post-pandemic normal. Rather than pick from their extensive catalog, for the first time in the Color of the Year’s 23-year history, the Pantone Color Institute decided to create an entirely new color to “reflec the global innovation and transformation taking place” as we emerge from isolation into a radically changed world. Pantone had a surprise in store with their choice of 2022 Color of the Year: Very Peri (PANTONE 17-3938). 2022’s Pantone Color of the Year is a brand-new hue for the metaverse age
