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The Green Light: Pantone Color of the Year 2017

You’re body sinks into a soft, cool bed of grass. The sun blankets the surfaces around you to create vibrant shades from Lime to Laurel. Tall, wonderfully monstrous trees surround the area with low-hanging pips and leaves joining you in the quiet.

Greenery.

  It is no wonder that Pantone has chosen their Color of the Year to be green. As they describe it, it is “emblematic of the pursuit of personal passions and vitality”. With the constant gender-ific tug-of-war between the masculine and the feminine, Pantone encourages us to focus on the quality of creative work with a neutral and open-minded visual landscape. It is the rest and relaxation that all-things-living need in the coming year. It is everything we need in creative.

How to Use It

Using green more often in the creative industry doesn’t have to mean that every new client gets a green logo. It also doesn’t have to only work in a “go green” style campaign where the brand is making an eco-statement. Use accents of green in photography. Use green in type. Pair green with your clients current branding in unique and subtle ways. The beauty is in the details, people. Pantone has given us a color of the year that enhances the sense of neutrality. Take it upon yourself to produce work that effectively uses neutral elements other than color. Neutral typefaces, illustrative styles, and even layout grids can emphasize a brand message in just the right way. I am stoked to use green a little more this year. The rustic and classic color in creative produces a sense of calm, and opens the audience to focus on the message rather than the visuals – which is ultimately the goal of a strong designer. We can all give a hearty “Thanks, bud.” to Pantone for starting 2017 on a great color platform to work from.

Where I’ve Found It

In the spirit of green, here are a few creative things (that happen to incorporate the color green). May they inspire you.

Website: Sentry Marketing (a LIFT Creations client)

Granted, this is on the blue side of the green spectrum, but a green sample nonetheless. Sentry Marketing is a client of ours here at LIFT. They take brand loyalty to the next level through their various customer-based programs, so we took green to the next level with their web design. We decided to focus on a strong use of color to bring vibrancy and freshness to the site. The site design is simple and direct. https://www.sentrymarketing.com/

App: Spotify

Don’t even get me started on the Discover Weekly algorithm. This app is a vital tool to my daily creativity. Spotify uses that splash of green branding as the perfect sidekick to my musical adventures in the shop. They know what they’re doing, and I hope they never stop.

Illustration: Harry Potter Digital Book Cover

I can never get enough of Olly Moss’ illustration work. This print was produced for Pottermore in a full series of cover illustrations. Three things that never cease to amaze me: Harry Potter, Olly Moss, and the color green.

Branding: KIS Products (a LIFT Creations client)

Another client here at LIFT, KIS Products came to us for some branding work. We are fans of using clean, modern style and this does not drop short of our design personality. With crisp lines and simple shape, this brand presents the vibe of KIS Products in a way that allows for the brand to expand, reach, and live on through years to come. Pat on the back for use of green!

Book Cover and Layout: Green – A Field Guide to Marijuana

It’s not illegal to read about it right? This book has some incredible photography, great use of type, and infographics that will blow your mind. Remember – creative inspiration can be found in all sorts of packages. Design cool points: the page edges are green and the cover uses type cutout. Props to Dan Michaels and Erik Christiansen for this gem.

Let’s all use a little more green this year. Cheers.