Pantone announced their 2016 Color of the Year in December - and for the first time ever, they actually chose two colors together. Serenity and Rose Quartz - a pale, cool blue and a light rosy pink - have already begun their reign as color champs all over social media. Still, why settle for using the Color of the Year when you could have your very own Pantone color?
According to
this article from the New York Post, CEO Sherry Chris of Better Homes and Gardens Realty did just that. It's not unusual for big brands like Tiffany's or the US Army to develop their own custom PMS color, but after working with Pantone on a project for her business, Chris decided to develop a custom PMS color just for her. "Sherry Chris Pink", as seen in the business cards below, is one of only two colors developed for a specific individual - the other being a custom blue developed for a musician you may or may not have heard of - Jay Z.
The process of developing a custom color, which is detailed in the article by Pantone technical director Carmine Matarazzo is actually fascinating.
"Jay Z brought in a piece of his old motorcycle," recalls Matarazzo, who has been creating the company's tailor-made tones for almost three decades. "One of the more interesting requests I got was from Maui Jim, the sunglass company. They brought in a multicolored feather. I thought, 'How are we going to do this?' "
In the case of the feather, it took Matarazzo, a trained chemist, and his team of eight technicians several weeks to nail the kind of iridescent, shimmering blue the brand had been trying to capture. "It took a lot of guesswork. And science," he says.
If I had a spare "tens of thousands" of dollars lying about, I'd certainly consider creating my own custom color. I think mine would be a sort of antique yellow - not too orange, not to green. For now, I think I'll be content with PMS 116.
What would your custom PMS color be? Share it with me on
or
or our
website!