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2020's color of the year: 'Classic Blue'

The Bainbridge Island woman behind Pantone's Color of the Year

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, Wash. — Leatrice Eisman calls Bainbridge Island home, but as the Executive Director of Pantone Color Institute, she’s well known by companies around the world as the "international guru of color."

“There's a psychology of color that works in the market place, and essentially that's what I do, help companies reach a decision about what colors are the proper colors to use," said Eisman from her color saturated home on the island near Seattle.

Pantone is the company that standardizes color for graphic design, and one of Eisman's key roles is helping them pick the special hue that will be the hallmark of the coming year. 

It takes a keen eye to do what Eisman does. She constantly travels the world looking for the next "Color of the Year."

“I’m always quick to tell people we are not here to dictate, that's not what it's about,” said Eisman.

 2018's color of the year was ‘Ultraviolet’.

Credit: Pantone
Ultra Violet 2018's Color of the Year

2019's – ‘Living Coral’.

Credit: Pantone
Living Coral 2019's Color of the Year

And 2020's color of the year is 'Classic Blue'. 

Credit: Pantone
Classic Blue 2020's Color of the Year

Pantone says 2020’s color 'instills calm, confidence and connection, and this enduring hue highlights our desire for a stable foundation on which to build as we cross into a new era.'

“We are living in a time that requires trust and faith. It is this kind of constancy and confidence that is expressed by PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue, a solid and dependable blue hue we can always rely on,” said Eiseman in a Pantone press release. "Classic Blue encourages us to look beyond the obvious to expand our thinking; challenging us to think more deeply, increase our perspective and open the flow of communication.”

That's a lot to expect from a color.

On the flip side of the coin, many of us are simply relieved that all of our basic blue stuff will be on-trend this year.

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