Fresh pinks, vivid yellow-greens and deep purples bring plenty to explore in PANTONE’s latest graphics colour release. With 224 new colours joining the PANTONE Matching System, designers have more possibilities for building a brand identity, developing packaging or finding the shade that makes a concept click.
To introduce the additions, PANTONE has created four palettes with distinctly different personalities. They range from sweet, playful combinations to rich, dramatic contrasts, offering a starting point for experimenting with the new colours.
More Room for Colour
PANTONE connects the release with an appetite for more expressive design: bolder combinations, patterns and colours chosen for the feelings they suggest.
You can explore that direction at any scale. A packaging range might embrace several contrasting shades, while an established brand could introduce a single new accent. The same colour can play a very different role depending on its neighbours and how much space you give it.
That is what makes these four palettes useful. Each shows a selection of the new colours in company, giving you relationships to explore as well as individual shades to discover.
Desire For Pleasure
Inspired by ripe fruit, ice cream and confectionery, this palette brings a playful sweetness to packaging, illustrations and seasonal campaigns.
The cooler shades give you plenty to work with beyond an all-pink treatment. Try blue across a larger area with pink details, or bring orange forward for a warmer, more energetic combination. There is scope here for playful packaging, illustrated campaigns and seasonal graphics.
Desire For Exquisite
How would the same design feel with a deep grape background instead of a pale peach one?
This palette invites that kind of experiment. Its darker brown and purple tones sit alongside red, orange and a soft peach shade, giving you a broad range of light and dark to work with. PANTONE’s references to flowers and ripened fruit come through in the richness of the combination.
For a packaging concept, you could start with a dark base and introduce the warmer colours through illustration or small details. Reverse those proportions and the result could feel lighter and more open, while retaining the same colour family.
Oxygenating
Nature provides a brighter direction here, with yellow and yellow-green set against deeper botanical greens. The palette offers an energetic take on natural colour, with enough variation to explore both lively contrasts and closely related combinations.
A few ways to experiment:
- Use a deeper green for larger areas and introduce yellow as an accent.
- Bring several greens together in a layered botanical illustration.
- Let the lightest shade lead, with darker green details providing definition.
These could be useful starting points for outdoor campaigns, fresh food packaging or graphic identities inspired by plants and growth.
Beyond Boundaries
Aqua and lavender sit beside a stronger purple, lime green and a creamy neutral. Together, they leave room for both retro references and more experimental graphics, reflecting the mix of nostalgia and exploration behind PANTONE’s theme.
You do not need to use all five equally. The neutral could provide a generous background for purple and lime details, while aqua and lavender could lead a softer version. Try changing the proportions before changing the colours; you may find several directions within this one selection.
Which PANTONE Guide Suits Your Workflow?
The 224 new colours are available across the updated PANTONE Formula Guide, Color Bridge and Solid Chips Set. Your choice depends on how you select, communicate and reproduce colour.
PANTONE Formula Guide
For exploring and specifying PANTONE spot colours, with ink mixing formulas provided alongside the printed references.
PANTONE Color Bridge
For comparing PANTONE spot colours with their closest CMYK simulations. Seeing them side by side helps you assess how a colour may change when reproduced using four-colour process printing. The guide also provides CMYK, sRGB and Hex values.
PANTONE Solid Chips Set
For working with removable colour chips that can accompany design presentations and help communicate colour selections.
Supplements are also part of the launch, offering a way to add the new colours to an existing collection. Check the relevant product details to find the option that suits your current guides.
Find Your Next Colour Combination
Start with the palette that interests you most, then see where it leads.
Explore the new PANTONE colours in the latest guides and give your next project a fresh set of possibilities.
