Abounding in 2019, WHA’s Color of the Year, Boundless Blue

Our confidence was high last December when we announced WHA’s first ever Color of the Year. When we stated that our pick, Boundless Blue “is trending today with relevance for tomorrow”, little did we know just how spot-on we might be.
Now, we do.

Similar and related hues to Boundless Blue abound. A recent window-shopping walk around the block validated the viability of Boundless Blue today. With eyes wide open, blue popped out at every turn. Retailers’ displays and product offerings were packed with blue-hued vases, cookware, towels, pillows, sofas, rugs and art.

Leading voices in our color world, Pantone, Color Marketing Group (CMG), PPG Paint and Sherwin Williams Paint are all touting the blues for today and tomorrow. Blue truly is boundless!

Pantone’s Spring-Summer 2020 Colors, with a range of ten different hues, included three blues: Classic Blue, Faded Denim and Mosaic Blue. With a little chuckle, we read how Classic Blue is a “more dependable boundless blue.”

CMG’s August “Color Alert” announced “blue goes global!” The international importance of blue was identified in Latin America, Europe, Asia and North America by the appearance of CMG’s bevy of blues: Ser, Wave, Ming and Fluid Blue in fashion, textiles and surface materials.

PPG Paint’s 2020 Color of the Year announcement is none other than—blue! Their pick, Chinese Porcelain, is “a mix of cobalt and moody blue.” PPG color stylists “analyze the runway, lifestyles, demographics, geographies, and global and cross-cultural societal inspirations to determine what colors will resonate and represent the PPG global color forecast, including the PPG Color of the Year.”

The latest blue-news is Sherwin Williams’ just released 2020 Color of the Year, Naval. “This shade evokes a prominent sense of confidence that fuses timeless color with a fresh mix of natural materials and textures that bring navy blue into a new era.”

On the one hand, we feel a little smug—on the other hand, we feel a little edgy as we analyze the ongoing evolution of color trends, including the ongoing prominence of blue, to select WHA’s Color of the Year for 2020.