Pantone is doing something a little different for 2021… TWO colors of the year: PANTONE 17-5104 Ultimate Gray + PANTONE 13-0647 Illuminating. The idea behind marrying these two colors together comes from the support they give one another. They’re a message of happiness supported by fortitude to give us hope for a brighter year. Know anyone who could use a little hope in this new year?
Time Magazine described Ultimate Gray as “a calming shade that brings to mind stable concrete foundations and serene pebble beaches.” Illuminating “evokes warm sunshine, the invigorating bite of a tart lemon, and cheerful spirits.”
It’s actually only the second time Pantone has ever chosen two colors for a new year. The first time was in 2016 “as a nod to the increasing fluidity around gender norms.”
Why We Love This Year’s Colors
We’re fans of these choices for a number of reasons. As shades of gray and yellow, they couldn’t be more opposite. Yet, they work together marvelously in a color scheme. Following a year marked by a pandemic, polarized politics, human rights crises, and natural disasters, these colors represent hope in working together across differences.
Colors Convey Meaning
Pantone’s intentionality in choosing these colors is an important reminder that colors convey meaning. That leads us to ask, are you considering what’s being conveyed in your color choices? Think about when you’re staging a home, virtually or not. Are you simply picking colors that look nice together, or are you going deeper? Think about it.
Yellow and gray convey notions of uplifting and balance, while cooler tones of blue show elegance and beauty.
Photographed by Bobby H. 
Photographed by Bobby H.
See? It’s more than choosing colors that visually compliment each other. There should be a why behind your choices. And that goes for all aspects of your business.
Bold Marketing Is The Only Marketing
We hope Pantone’s bold choices inspire you to make some of your own when marketing your listings. And those choices shouldn’t be limited to your color schemes. This applies across the entirety of your business.
So, take risks. Try things you’ve never tried before. New tools, different tactics, uncharted strategies. Think of yourself as writing the foreword to someone else’s next chapter, foreshadowing the new beginnings they’ll have in their new home.
Looking forward to seeing how many times these colors pop up in our photographs this year!
As the nation’s leading provider of real estate photography and visual marketing services, VHT Studios® equips clients with the best tools for selling listings in today’s market. Since its founding, VHT Studios has photographed more than 13,000,000 rooms in over 1,200,000 properties and helped more than 470,000 real estate and business professionals sell and rent more than $300 billion in properties. Visit VHT.com to order and learn more about the latest in real estate marketing.
Lucy Edwards
January 13, 2021Love the colors! our son just bought a new house and those are the colors! Excellent choice!