Living Coral: “an animating and life-affirming coral hue with a golden undertone that energizes and enlivens with a softer edge.”
“In reaction to the onslaught of digital technology and social media increasingly embedding into daily life, we are seeking authentic and immersive experiences that enable connection and intimacy. Sociable and spirited, the engaging nature of PANTONE 16-1546 Living Coral welcomes and encourages lighthearted activity. Symbolizing our innate need for optimism and joyful pursuits, PANTONE 16-1546 Living Coral embodies our desire for playful expression.”
“Representing the fusion of modern life, PANTONE Living Coral is a nurturing color that appears in our natural surroundings and at the same time, displays a lively presence within social media.”
Most of the time, we look at the color of the year and think “LOVE. LOVE. LOVE” (Honeysuckle, Radiant Orchid, Greenery, Ultra Violet) but occasionally we think “eh, maybe we’ll like it next year” (yes, Marsala from 2015, we are talking about you. Again.). But as much as we wanted to have an opinion, we were pretty neutral about Living Coral.
Eventually, we started to pull out a few words from Pantone’s announcement: experience, connection, spirited, engaging, activity, joyful. These are adjectives that many people use to describe an ideal life. The mantras that we use to get there may be different, but most of us are seeking the same things out of life. Many people call it “work-life balance” where the time you spend at work roughly equals the time you spend living your ideal life.
For us, “work-life balance” sets up automatic failure. The events industry is unforgiving with time, especially when traveling or in event crunch time. When you spend 12-14 days at the office in the weeks leading up to an event and then 16-18 hours on-site, only to be followed with a long-weekend (if we are lucky!) to recover, there is no “balance.”
Instead, we strive for “work hard, play hard” because we love the events world and wouldn’t trade the endless days and weeks of crunch time for a job where we put in our 8 hours a day / 5 days a week and call it done. We’re OK with the lack of exact “balance” because we love our work, and when the work is done and we do have a short break, we cram a lot of living, sleeping, recharging, and playing into that time so that we are ready for another “work hard” cycle.
Experience. Connection. Engaging. These are ideals for us in all areas of our personal and professional lives. The role of an event planner is to create experiences that connect and engage people. And, we create that for ourselves in our downtime too. So while we didn’t have an immediate reaction to Living Coral, we fully embrace what it symbolizes and appreciate how thought-provoking this choice is. Well done, Pantone.
Your turn – how do you feel about Living Coral? And, will it find a way into your personal or professional life this year as the Color of the Year?
