Rose Quartz and Serenity: A Review

Alright, so Pantone officially released the Colour of the Year for 2016.

The Colour of the Year, this year, happens to be two colours - which seems to defy the very idea of the colour of the year!

Rose Quartz and Serenity (a very beautiful pale pink and an equally appealing pale blue).

There is a convoluted logic given in the press releases about why there are two colours which I find more of a publicity stunt than a real reason. The fact that there is gender fluidity in many fields is the broad reason given for the selection of the two colours. But this in itself is a self defeating argument. The two colours chosen happen to be the two colours most commonly associated with the two genders - pink and blue. These specific pantone shades seem to be very close to what people most commonly associate with a baby pink for a girl and baby blue for a boy. So it becomes difficult to fathom how these two gender biased colours are selected to signify gender fluidity.

If one is able to go beyond these arguments and just focus on the two colours, there is reason to cheer. These two colours seem to reflect the movement towards a finer aesthetic taste, a conscious attempt to move towards peace, the acceptance of subtle nuances over jarring loudness and the confidence to choose shades of innocence over shades of authority. Both these colours individually and together have a certain sense of ethereal sensuality. It is also in sync with the preference of minimalistic, pastel, soft, nude shades for design, interiors, packaging, apparel and even makeup. These are colours of emotions rather than colours of reason.

Critical reviews have issues with these colours looking too baby-showerish and not serious enough. Regardless of these criticisms, these two shades will be dominating the design world in 2016.

I give a wholehearted thumbs up for the two shades chosen for 2016.

When A is for Red and 8 is for Green!

Do you ever associate certain letters with certain colours? Or certain smells with certain colours? Well, there are people who do. 

It could be the correlation of a particular object, a specific kind of odour, a food item, a loud noise, or anything else, with a colour. This happens because sometimes the brain draws correlations between two different sensations - Synesthesia (as opposed to anesthesia, which is the absence of any sensation).

It's fascinating, really. For example, these people will always see the letter 'A' appearing in red, even if it is printed in black on white background! Their brain is on overdrive, especially because there are multiple things happening at the same time - seeing what the object is for what it is, associating it with a colour, remembering earlier instances and similar associations and so on. As a result such people seem to be able to remember things much better than others.

Synesthesia is therefore the involuntary triggering of one sensation when you experience another sensation. Chromesthesia is the specific term to describe the association of a particular colour when you experience any other sensation.

image courtesy: www.quartervida.com

M S Blue – Then and M S Blue Now - Susan Mathen

A while back, I mentioned M S Blue to someone, and he assumed that I was talking about the Indian Cricket team’s jersey shade. Well, that makes sense too I guess – M S Dhoni’s jersey shade!

Quite different from Dhoni’s jersey shade, what I was referring to was another shade of blue. The sparkling blue of the saree worn by M S Subbulakshmi, the renowned Carnatic singer. When Kanjeevaram sarees were carefully woven and not mass produced, one of the famous sari merchants (who also happened to be a huge fan of the singer) – Muthu Chettiar - gifted her a sari in this distinctive shade of blue. The term M S Blue soon became extremely popular, and for many South Indian ladies it was a dream to own the coveted M S Blue silk sari.

And yes, M S (Subbulakshmi) Blue is different from the M S (Dhoni) Blue.

   

(image source: www.quora.com & www.mid-day.com)

PoV on 'Marsala - The Colour for 2015'

Pantone's Colour for 2015: Marsala.

'Earthy wine red'.

Inspired by the wine of the same colour from the Marsala region in Sicily, Italy.

The colour, in my opinion, is a supporting actor, not the hero. And probably that is the role it is supposed to play. 

It does not shout out, it does not crave for attention.  Yet it could easily fit into one's wardrobe, home, accessories, cars, gadgets, makeup and more. Lots of possibilities for design and fashion. Could work for both genders. Could be great on hair, nails, lips and eyelids.It is a colour that can be paired with a number of other colours, like greys, blacks, beiges, whites (obviously) or even metallic colours, or blues, teals, or even certain greens. It can easily be a part of home decor as it is not something that is too overpowering that you would feel like getting rid of it after a while. It is that colour that can coexist comfortably with most of the stuff you currently have.

Precisely for that matter, Marsala seems to be too 'safe' a colour of the year. It seems heavy, dated and a bit too serious. Compared to the previous 5 years' colours of the year - radiant orchid, emerald, tangerine tango, honeysuckle, turquoise - this seems a bit too weak. It seems like an attempt to please everyone. It is like a brand that is talking to everyone, trying to reach out to all age groups and therefore not having a distinct point of view. 

To me, Marsala seems like old wine in an old bottle. 

Image: http://www.collegeokplease.com/life-style/get-dressed-in-marsala-the-color-of-the-year-2015/449