Pantone’s 2023 Color of the Year is Viva Magenta (PANTONE 18-1750), a “brave and fearless” new animated red “expressive of a new signal of strength” as a growing digital world emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, the company announced Thursday night.

“In this age of technology, we look to draw inspiration from nature and what is real,” says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. “PANTONE 18-1750 Viva Magenta descends from the red family, and is inspired by the red of cochineal, one of the most precious dyes belonging to the natural dye family as well as one of the strongest and brightest the world has known."

Eiseman says, “Rooted in the primordial, PANTONE 18-1750 Viva Magenta reconnects us to original matter. Invoking the forces of nature, PANTONE 18-1750 Viva Magenta galvanizes our spirit, helping us to build our inner strength.”

The PPAI Expo 2023, scheduled for January 9-12 in Las Vegas, will have Pantone 2023 Color of the Year Limited Edition Formula Guides at the Pantone booth inside Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Pantone 2023 Color of the Year shopping bags produced by Promo PSI will also be available. (Free PPAI Expo registration for PPAI members is still available until Monday, December 5.)

The Pantone Color of the Year announcement has become an inflection point for the art and fashion world, recalibrating trends for the coming year. The ripple effects reach the promo industry, too, as suppliers and distributors shape future product and marketing plans.

Each year, the Pantone Institute carefully selects a color that’s reflective of the world’s current landscape. The 2022 Color of the Year was -- the first brand-new, Pantone-created color chosen by the institute – symbolizing “the global innovation and transformation taking place.”

Additionally this year, Pantone has released a series of complementary colors it calls "the Magentaverse."

This year’s Color of the Year choice “sends a message of vibrant positivity” and “highlights our change of perspective” as the world moves forward from the pandemic, says Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute.

“We do feel this animated crimson red tone is reflective of this unique cultural moment,” Pressman said during the live announcement. “We are living in an unconventional time, time where we need to follow bravely and boldly, create a new vision and write a new narrative for ourselves.”