The Year of Purple
The executive director of the Pantone Color Institute states that we are “living in a time that requires inventiveness and imagination.” And that is why the color Ultra Violet was selected as the Pantone Color of the Year for 2018. 
As brand consultants, we are often asked what are the “hot colors.” The problem is that color evokes reactions that may be different from one person to the next (8% of men have color vision deficiency and less than 1% of women). Yet color is a key to branding — and consistency of color is almost more important than the actual color itself.
Purple is “complex and contemplative,” according to the Color Institute. “Ultra Violet suggests the mysteries of the cosmos, the intrigue of what lies ahead, and the discoveries beyond where we are now…purples have also long been symbolic of counterculture, unconventionality and artistic brilliance.”
For me, purple is the color that balances red and blue. Blue is a cool, calm color (think hospitals) and red is energy and alertness (think Red Bull or CNN). Purple is the blend. And when I see it, I think of Prince. Purple Rain.
The Color Institute summed it up best with, “the color is often associated with mindfulness practices, which offer a high ground to those seeking refuge from today’s over-stimulated world. It is a color to inspire connections.
Here are past Pantone Colors of the Year from the Pantone website.
Mark Mathis
Mark wrote his first direct-mail fundraising letter in 1981 for the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. The effort raised a few million dollars in undiscovered wills and legacy gifts. From that day forward Mark discovered a love of the big idea that moves the needle. After 12 years at KWWL, Mark became a business owner as a co-founder of ME&V — rebranded as AMPERAGE in 2015. After 25 years of leading creative teams in video production, graphic design, PR, writing and web development, Mark transitioned out of ownership in 2021. Today he serves in an employee role as special projects consultant. He is creatively ambidextrous — son of an artist and engineer — and famous for distilling complex ideas down to a few words and a few visuals. Mark is a writer. When he found that many nonprofits struggled with complex branding puzzles, he wrote the book, “NonProfit-NonMarketing .” He also wrote a novel called “Reenactment.” Mark is an active blogger OneMinuteMarketer® with nearly 1,000 readers each week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. One of his most popular YouTube videos is on “How to Look Good on Zoom.” One of Mark’s fondest business memories was being named to INC 500 two times and attending the INC 500 conference with other winners. Mark is considered by some a Civil War expert (and that explains his novel). Mark also served as an adjunct professor in the business and in the communications departments at Wartburg College. Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is currently vice president of the University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communications Advisory Board. Mark is married to state Sen. Liz Mathis, and the two love to travel, even when it means being trapped by a volcano in the Czech Republic for three weeks.
