and the color of the year is....

Honeysuckle pink! So says Pantone, the color gurus of the universe. Here is what they have to say about it:

A Color for All Seasons
Courageous. Confident. Vital. A brave new color, for a brave new world. Let the bold spirit of Honeysuckle infuse you, lift you and carry you through the year. It’s a color for every day – with nothing “everyday” about it.

While the 2010 color of the year, PANTONE 15-5519 Turquoise, served as an escape for many, Honeysuckle emboldens us to face everyday troubles with verve and vigor. A dynamic reddish pink, Honeysuckle is encouraging and uplifting. It elevates our psyche beyond escape, instilling the confidence, courage and spirit to meet the exhaustive challenges that have become part of everyday life.

“In times of stress, we need something to lift our spirits. Honeysuckle is a captivating, stimulating color that gets the adrenaline going – perfect to ward off the blues,” explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “Honeysuckle derives its positive qualities from a powerful bond to its mother color red, the most physical, viscerally alive hue in the spectrum.”

Eiseman continues, “The intensity of this festive reddish pink allures and engages. In fact, this color, not the sweet fragrance of the flower blossoms for which it was named, is what attracts hummingbirds to nectar. Honeysuckle may also bring a wave of nostalgia for its associated delicious scent reminiscent of the carefree days of spring and summer.”

Honeysuckle is guaranteed to produce a healthy glow when worn by both men and women. It’s a striking, eye-catching hue that works well for day and night in women’s apparel, accessories and cosmetics, and in men’s ties, shirts and sportswear. Add a lively flair to interior spaces with Honeysuckle patterned pillows, bedspreads, small appliances and tabletop accessories. Looking for an inexpensive way to perk up your home? Paint a wall in Honeysuckle for a dynamic burst of energy in the family room, kitchen or hallway.

For those of you not familiar with Pantone, it is a color specification system that is used by art and fashion industries all over the world. It essentially, creates a color swatch (with it's own number) which can be used by designers for paint, fabric, ink and more. For instance, the red of my logo is PMS 187 so when I am printing, I can tell my printer this number and can be assured that the color I think it's going to be is the color I see in the final product. This works really well for your wedding or event planning. You can collect your palette of colors and pass them on to your vendors so your specific shade of celery green does not get interpreted by your bakery as mint green or chartreuse green etc.

What do you think of this Honeysuckle pink?? I'm going to investigate it a little further with some inspiration boards today and see if I think it is really going to stimulate my adrenaline and ward off the blues better than an evening of True Blood. ;o)