Pantone’s 2018 Choice - The Color Purple
The color experts have spoken. The Pantone Color Institute thinks 2018 will be tinted in a deep purple hue called, “Ultra Violet.” While most of us associate purple with royalty, that’s not the reason the color was chosen.
Pantone Vice President Laurie Pressman told The Associated Press it was chosen to evoke a counterculture flair, a grab for originality, ingenuity and visionary thinking. Okay, perhaps we can buy that…
In addition, Pantone says the selection pays homage to the pop culture likes of Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie. However, it also reflects some inspiration from nature.
“The vast and limitless night sky is symbolic of what is possible and continues to inspire the desire to pursue a world beyond our own.”
Ultra Violet may be a color pointing us toward the future, but we’re not convinced of its application as a home color choice ( at least in large doses), especially if you’re selling your home. An exception might be a lovely style Victorian ala the Painted Ladies in San Francisco.
Regardless, Ultra Violet is a beautiful color and obviously the color has inspired a lot of great music.
Purple Rain
Purple Haze
Deep Purple
and the curious song,
Purple People Eaters
Oprah sure liked The Color Purple. And, poet Jenny Joseph too, who wrote the words, "When I'm an old woman I shall wear purple."
A Bit of Purple History
In Elizabethan times, purple was so sought after that lowly people were killed for wearing even a hint of the color. Only royalty was allowed to wear purple. And, since the color rarely occurs in nature, at that time it was hard to produce.
We prefer to be surrounded by colors found in nature. The purple in our environment comes from the color in the sky, or seasonal flowers, shrubs, and trees. 
What about you? Will you be incorporating Ultra Violet into your world?
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