There are just a few things that I am pretty obsessed with…Martha Stewart, Shoes, Design, Humorous Moments of Life, the few things I’m probably forgetting, and color. I wrote my senior thesis paper on color and its effects on advertising. It was fascinating really, and, it was beautiful. Because its color. And I often think we take it completely for granted. I’m sure of it. I’m also sure I could post a very lengthy blog post on color, but I’ll refrain. Instead I will focus on the topic at hand: Pantone.

If there was a god of color it would be Pantone. They are the self-proclaimed, “world-renowned authority on color”. And it’s totally true. Basically, back in the early 1960s this guy named Lawrence decided to fix a problem; inconsistency among colors in the graphic arts (which he noted was due to every single person interpreting the spectrum of color differently, which makes total sense if you think about it). So Lawrence decided to make a book, fan style, called the PANTONE® MATCHING SYSTEM®, or PMS, that would set the standard for what color was supposed to look like.

Now, everyone uses it. Yes, everyone. If you deal with color, you know Pantone. And they’ve branched out from that little fan book into just about everything. My favorite lately is paint (sorry Martha).

Today I got an e-mail from Pantone alerting me that the Top 10 Pantone Colors for Fashion Spring 2011 have been released. Knowing this is not only cool, but makes me feel super fashion savvy. The seamless integration of the Pantone system into the fashion industry makes my heart go pitter patter. You can download a PDF of the Spring 2011 colors which includes color picks from top designers such as Tommy Hilfiger, Betsy Johnson, Carlos Campos, AND sketches from some of their new lines. I love fashion design sketches and will one day have a few framed on my walls. The Fall 2010 PDF is very awesome as well. So, I strongly encourage you to check it all out on Pantone’s website here.

The full history of Pantone can be found on their website www.pantone.com.
(Pantone LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of X-Rite, Incorporated. © Pantone LLC, 2010. All rights reserved.)

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