Pantone colour of the year 2017, Greenery, has political (and yellow) undertones

Pantone has announced its colour of the year for 2017 will be Greenery, Pantone 15-0343. The colour is described by Pantone as a “fresh, yellowish hue” that “symbolises the reawakening of nature in spring and is a symbol for a new beginning”.

Greenery, the company says, reminds us of “young, fresh leaves and shoots, and stops to inhale deeply to replenish oxygen and new strength” – something most of us need after 2016’s events.

Last year the company released two colours of the year, Serenity and Rose Quartz, to convey a message of “our need for harmony brought in a chaotic world,” explains executive director of the Pantone Color Institute Leatrice Eiseman.

“Greenery is a symbol of the burgeoning longing for new hope in a complex social and political environment. Greenery symbolises our growing desire for a renewed connection and unity with nature and our fellow human beings.”

Leatrice also suggests that in our increasingly introverted, tech-obsessed society, people are “trapped in their modern realities” and as a result Greenery finds itself in “map, architecture, lifestyle and design”. She describes the shade as unifying in a uncertain and separating world, saying it is a “worldwide ubiquitous colour.”