What does Pantone mean? It is the question that has given quite a few headaches to graphic designers, visual designers and artists who-since the year 2000, that is, when Pantone established the “Color of the year” event-have been counting down the days to discover the color of the year.

It is 1963, Lawrence Herbert, a young college graduate, is employed by M&J Levine Advertising. At this New York printing company, the boy begins to study color pigments with the aim of obtaining a color history for use in the agency’s prints.

Let’s take a simple example: take green, there are dozens of them. How do we know which green we should refer to when we create graphics, posters, and so on?

Herbert’s goal was to create a standard in the use of colors.

One day, Lawrence Herbert imagined a world where colors could be interpreted universally and bought the technology to create pigments from Levine Brothers for $50,000.

That was how Pantone was born.

What does Pantone mean and where does the word come from?

Pantone is a neologism and is composed of the Greek word “pan,” meaning many/through and “tone” which means hue in English.

Pantone’s first product was a set of cards, a standard universal color chart, which worked precisely because everyone could have it.

At this point you may be wondering: but if everyone had this bribe, how did Pantone survive?

You should know that the bundle yellowed after one year, so those who used it were forced to buy it again. In addition, it was not a cheap product and colors were difficult to replicate, especially with screens. The screens had to be calibrated to faithfully reproduce the Pantone value and have a certification that people paid to Pantone itself.

What does “Pantone Matching System” mean and what is it?

With passion and determination, Lawrence developed the Pantone Matching System (PMS) in 1965. This system attributed a number to each color, transforming chromatic chaos into a universally understandable language. It was like giving a voice to every shade and hue.

The PMS was not just a color-matching system; it was a symphony of possibilities for artists, designers, and creators everywhere. Since then, colors have stopped being just visual; they have become a form of expression with a shared language.

The success of Pantone

Pantone’s success has grown over the years into a driving force in the creative industry. Pantone color guides became the indispensable tools for those seeking accuracy and consistency. Each Pantone issue told a story, carrying with it a unique emotion.

But Pantone’s adventure did not stop there.

What was the first Pantone color in history?

In the 1980s Pantone founded a parallel company with the goal of studying colors to advise companies which ones to use.

In 2000, Pantone began declaring the “Color of the Year,” an innovation that made color a reflection of cultural trends and global atmosphere and would influence the spirit of the future.

The first color of the year (2000) was cerulean.

In 2007, Pantone went a step further, joining with X-Rite, a partnership destined to take the world of color to new levels of beauty and accuracy.

How does Pantone choose the color of the year?

Pantone ‘s annual “Color of the Year” announcement has become a significant event in the design world, influencing trends in the fields of fashion, industrial design, graphic design and beyond.

But how do you choose the color of the year?

Pantone analyzes a little bit of everything (fashion, film, art, TV series, graphic trends) for a year and tries to translate everything into a color.

Whether this is a huge marketing operation? Who knows, the fact remains that today, when opening a Pantone color guide, we are not faced with a mere list of hues. It is a pragmatic, no-frills tool designed to meet precision needs in the field of color. Its practical utility makes it a reliable and widely adopted standard in industry, providing a common language for visual communication and faithful color reproduction in every industry.

Pantone has made the world more vibrant, more understandable and, most importantly, more connected through the universal language of colors. Pantone ‘s story is one of color passion, of a visionary who painted the world with a brush of numbers and shades.

In 2 days we will find out what the color of the year 2024 is. Let’s play a game, what do you think it will be? Write about it in the comments.