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Pantone’s Color of the Year is a Prince-inspired purple

by Erianna Jiles

December 07, 2017

Drumroll please. Today, the Pantone Color Institute announced its 2018 color of the year: purple. The shade, "Ultra Violet," was inspired in part by our own Prince.

This past August, Pantone and the Prince estate joined forces to announced the creation of the standardized custom color "Love Symbol #2" in honor of Prince. "Love Symbol #2" is said to be inspired by Prince's custom-made Yamaha purple piano that he was supposed to take on tour with him before his sudden death in 2016.

Ultra Violet (18-3838) isn't the exact same shade as Love Symbol, but it's very close — and Pantone has made clear that the Minnesota icon was part of the inspiration for this year's pick. "Musical icons Prince, David Bowie, and Jimi Hendrix brought shades of Ultra Violet to the forefront of western pop culture as personal expressions of individuality," writes the company on its website.

Last year's pick was "Greenery," which also happens to be the signature color of Classical Minnesota Public Radio. Pantone says the new shade is original, creative, and promotes visionary thinking that points us towards the future.

"I see this as very much an optimistic color, an empowering color," Pantone vice president Laurie Pressman told the Associated Press.

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This activity is made possible in part by the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund.