by Marica Fick

Happy 2018 everyone! I hope you all had a brilliant and rest-filled festive break?

I’m sure by now you have all noticed a certain colour trend flooding image-sharing websites and blogs? You know the colour I’m referring to – it is a bold and dramatic shade of purple with a slightly bluer undertone – an almost “Royal Purple“.  Anyhoo, however you choose to describe it, it is called Ultra Violet and it is Pantone’s Colour of the Year 2018.

Purple tends to be a colour that people either love or hate. It is often viewed as a transcendental colour – it symbolizes spirituality, the sub-conscious, creativity, and royalty. Purple is also associated with decadence and conceit and, in some countries, it is the colour of mourning.

Design Monarchy is no stranger to using purple in our interior design projects – we LOVE bold. In fact, when Pantone announced their new Colour of the Year last December, I immediately thought of two specific projects – Summerley Court and The Manor – both upmarket retirement/hospitality venues. While the purples used in the aforementioned projects were not the exact tone and shade of Ultra Violet, it serves as an excellent example of the power and popularity of purple.

Here is what Pantone had to say about their colour choice for 2018, I have extracted a few key phrases:

“A dramatically provocative and thoughtful purple shade, PANTONE 18-3838 Ultra Violet communicates originality, ingenuity, and visionary thinking that points us toward the future.”

“Complex and contemplative, Ultra Violet suggests the mysteries of the cosmos, the intrigue of what lies ahead, and the discoveries beyond where we are now.”

“Enigmatic purples have also long been symbolic of counterculture, unconventionality, and artistic brilliance. Musical icons Prince, David Bowie, and Jimi Hendrix brought shades of Ultra Violet to the forefront of western pop culture as personal expressions of individuality.”

“Historically, there has been a mystical or spiritual quality attached to Ultra Violet. The color is often associated with mindfulness practices, which offer a higher ground to those seeking refuge from today’s over-stimulated world.”

On a side note, I had to roll my eyes at Pantone’s description of the “creative inspiration indigenous” to Ultra Violet. It is seemingly a colour “that takes our awareness and potential to a higher level“… I had no idea a purple can do that.

Pantone also put together 8 colour schemes each incorporating Ultra Violet. These palettes are a lovely collection of colours that illustrates how you can compliment and harmonize Ultra Violet with other colours in your home or interior. My favourite scheme would have to be “Purple Haze” – a palette of hazy and smoky hues. You can view these palettes on the Pantone website: here (it is towards the bottom of the page).

And of course, we can’t sign off without showing you some Ultra Violet-inspired interiors and décor!

So what do you think of the Colour of the Year? Yay or Nay?