Pantone's Trendspotter Process

A story about how Pantone selects their influential "Color of the Year" through a secretive process.

"They have this hush-hush process where they invite 12 trend spotters to their office. Each gives presentations and debates around culture and where society is moving. Then they come out and announce something like 'honeysuckle is it.'

They immediately blitz the market with that selection, sending it to all the fashion houses and ad agencies. Then brands start using it in their campaigns - you'll start getting emails like 'Buy our thing, it's got the color of the year' or 'This dress features honeysuckle, the color of the year.'

Some past selections include:

• 2016: Rose Quartz
• 2015: Marsala
• 2012: Tangerine Tango
• 2011: Classic Honeysuckle

This marketing strategy helped establish Pantone as the global authority on color standards, contributing to their $100 million+ annual revenue from selling color booklets and standards."