Wonder why some colors can flood the stores and social media in just a matter of weeks? Meet The Pantone Color of the Year selection process.

The process requires thoughtful consideration and trend analysis by Pantone Color Institute, a business unit within Pantone that highlights the top seasonal runway colors. The unit will scour the earth to find new color influences, from the entertainment industry and films in production, traveling art collections and new artists, fashion, all areas of design, popular travel destinations, as well as unique lifestyles, playstyles, and socio-economic conditions.

New technologies, materials, textures, and effects that impact color, relevant social media platforms and even upcoming sporting events that capture worldwide attention can also contribute to this.

This is nothing new, as Pantone's Color of the Year has been influencing product development and purchasing decisions in multiple industries for 23 years.

"The Pantone Color of the Year reflects what is taking place in our global culture, expressing what people are looking for that color can hope to answer," said Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute.

"Creating a new color for the first time in the history of our Pantone Color of the Year educational color program reflects the global innovation and transformation taking place. As society continues to recognize color as a critical form of communication and a way to express and affect ideas and emotions and engage and connect, the complexity of this new red violet-infused blue hue highlights the expansive possibilities that lay before us".

Meet Very Peri

Coded as PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri, the slightly blue and slightly purple hue is said to be an extract to these transformative times, displaying carefree confidence and a daring curiosity that animates creative spirit — allowing the human race to adapt.

It might not be a big change for some, as lilac was the trending color throughout 2021 for the ladies. However, the periwinkle shade leans toward blue a little bit more when compared to lilac.

"Rekindling gratitude for some of the qualities that blue represents complemented by a new perspective that resonates today, PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri places the future ahead in a new light," the brand wrote on its website.

"PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri is a symbol of the global zeitgeist of the moment and the transition we are going through. As we emerge from an intense period of isolation, our notions and standards are changing, and our physical and digital lives have merged in new ways. Digital design helps us to stretch the limits of reality, opening the door to a dynamic virtual world where we can explore and create new color possibilities."

PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri illustrates the fusion of modern life and how color trends in the digital world are being manifested in the physical world and vice versa. It translates the current trends in gaming, the expanding popularity of the metaverse and the rising artistic community in the digital space.

The company consistently avoids mentioning the pandemic directly in its announcements, not even when they announced Ultimate Gray and Illuminating as the colors of 2021, a year where the pandemic reached its first peak globally — causing global lockdowns and travel bubbles. What it did, and do now, is sending an upbeat note on resilience and hope in the face of "unprecedented change."

"As we move into a world of unprecedented change, the selection of PANTONE 17-3938 Very Peri brings a novel perspective and vision of the trusted and beloved blue color family, encompassing the qualities of the blues, yet at the same time with its violet red undertone, PANTONE 173938 Very Peri displays a spritely, joyous attitude and dynamic presence that encourages courageous creativity and imaginative expression," concluded Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute.