Staff Blog
Our weekly blog, written by FH staff, features our reflections about a variety of personal and industry-related points of view.
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Tangerine Tango
Jan. 18, 2012
By Wesleigh Mowry, graphic designer
Fashion designers watch the runways to see what clothing trends the next season will bring to life. For graphic designers, design trends work much the same way – we look to the collections of work by other designers to see what is popular and what we’re competing with. And just as fashion comes and goes in waves, with prevailing themes, color schemes and influences, so too does graphic design. In fact, design and fashion often go hand-in-hand, as both are expressions of culture at a given time. Think about the psychedelic posters for bands like The Grateful Dead in the late 60s and the “hippie” clothes of that era – they include the same bright colors, the same paisley-like patterns, even the same free-spirit feel. But does fashion drive graphic design or is it the other way around?
The two camps could probably argue all day about which has the most influence, but there is one thing fashion and graphic designers alike can get inspiration from – the Pantone “Color of the Year.”
Pantone, the self-proclaimed “global authority on color and provider of professional color standards, ” has announced a Color of the Year annually since 1999 as a reflection of the current state of mind. The Color of the Year for 2012 is none other than Tangerine Tango – a bright reddish orange. A polar opposite of zen-like Cerulean Blue – the official color of 2000 – Tangerine Tango is full of energy, adrenaline and warmth. The year is projected to be a bright and ambitious one, as can be seen in the amount of tangerine on the runways of upcoming spring fashions.
You can buy all sorts of things in Tangerine Tango, from coffee mugs to paint to Sephora beauty products. Check out pantone.com for all of the Color of the Year products and information.