It’s that time of the year when Pantone releases the color of the year. The start of a new decade gets people excited and 2020 Color of the year makes everybody spread the big news with memes and with all kind of objects turned BLUE.
Now, for designers it’s an even bigger deal. It’s not just a color, it’s the color that you need to integrate in your materials to keep up with the competition.
Pantone highlights the top seasonal runway colors, forecasts global color trends, and advises companies on color for product and brand visual identity. Through seasonal trend forecasts, color psychology, and color consulting, the Pantone Color Institute partners with global brands to effectively leverage the power, psychology, and emotion of color in their design strategy.
Last year color, Living Coral, aimed to inspire us a sense of warmth and comfort in a day and age where the only constant is that everything is changing at a high speed.
For 2020 they chose a timeless and enduring blue hue, PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue which is elegant in its simplicity. Suggestive of the sky at dusk, the reassuring qualities of the thought-provoking Classic Blue highlight our desire for a dependable and stable foundation on which to build as we cross the threshold into a new era.
We are living in a time that requires trust and faith. (…) Aboundless blue evocative of the vast and infinite evening sky, Classic Blue encourages us to look beyond the obvious to expand our thinking; challenging us to think more deeply, increase our perspective and open the flow of communication.
Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute
In the new era there is need of a restful color. With all the fast chances that are happening in tech, marketing, entrepreneurship, a sense of peace and tranquility brings out the human spirit. A reflective blue tone, Classic Blue fosters resilience.
1.Use Color Schemes for Classic Blue
An easy way to introduce Classic Blue in your presentation is to use it as the main color and to create a color scheme based on it.
The choice of colors for presentation slides is one of the important decisions that must be made at the start of the process of developing your slides. There are different types of color schemes based on this theory and with Classic Blue at the center of each of these we can make an impact on the audience. Use tools like Adobe’s Color Wheel or Paletton to see all the color schemes that you can build using Classic Blue as the main color.
Check out these examples of slides using Classic Blue color schemes.
#Complementary
#Analogue
#Monochrome
#Triadic
2. Make it part of your background
Even selecting a background is an important decision to make at the start of developing your presentations. Having a solid background doesn’t make your presentation boring, it gives consistency and you can play with it until it suits you.
Solid Color Background
The easiest and most straightforward way is to use it for a solid colored background. All you have to do is just:
- Right Click
- Format Background
- Solid Color
- Add Custom Color with the RGB Code: 15-76-129
This one allows you to present your content and data in a clean and straightforward manner. As the name itself suggests, Classic Blue background will work nicely, primarily, in a business context.
Gradient Background
When gradients came back in our lives in 2018 designers started using them in almost everything. There are a ton of opportunities to incorporate the gradient trend into your presentation design. If you want your gradients to have the right effect, you need to really know your audience and what kind of designs they’re going to respond to. For Classic Blue a subtle gradient can balance the elements on a slide.
Source other graphics (images, patterns, textures)
Just a few days into 2020 and we are already seeing ways to use Classic Blue in different styles. A color of such potential should be part of your presentation palette.
Find inspiration in these examples or just create your own tailored background.
3. As specialist we recommend a Color treatment
Don’t let the blue monday get under your skin and use Classic Blue in your slides as a color treatment for images.
And if you don’t have enough time, there are already a bunch of photos based on this color that can be used in presentations.
4. Presentation styles with Classic Blue
After seeing so many examples we can say this year’s color is a peaceful, bold and regal color. Suited for minimalist and business presentation you can expect to see it a lot in all kinds of industries.
Such a versatile color can be used from just some key lines in a minimalist style, to a business style for pitches, sales deck or company presentation.
After reading all this it should be easy peasy to tailor a classic presentation and make the color of the year your color.
Go on and embark on this creative challenge and add a bit more color and energy in your next presentation!