Design

Video shows yellow website designs, how to find stock photography that uses the new Pantone 2021 Colors of Year, plus other color trends for 2021.

Pantone Colors of the Year 2021 and Other Color Trends

Yellow is one of Pantone’s 2021 Colors of the Year.

What is Pantone?

Pantone is a color matching system for designers and printers to specify color. As a graphic designer for nearly 30 years, Pantone is my go-to color matching resource for all design projects.

Each year Pantone releases a “color of the year” based on emerging trends in fashion, home and graphic design.

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Yellow!

Yellow adds a spark in an appealing way, but it’s also the color of ‘Caution! Danger Ahead!’ in any language.

Use yellow sparingly for best results.

Home Interior Design Trend

As we spend more time at home during the pandemic, the emerging design trend in home furnishing and paint colors are warm terracotta, and deeper earth tones.

Does it work for websites?

Yes!

Video Transcript

Welcome to 10 minute Monday. Today. I’m going to show you how to freshen up your website with the 2021 color of the year. And look at this sweet little girl in yellow, and guess what? The new color of the year, there’s actually two colors of the year. This year one they’re called Illuminating. The other is ultimate Gray. They have chosen these two colors because they feel that it represents positivity for the yellow and fortitude for the gray, with all that we have been through.

Pantone chooses their colors of the year based on fashion. You can see how it’s not over-powering with yellow, but it’s just a little shock of yellow.

Look at the sign, we’re stronger together. There was a very strong indication that yellow being positive was going to be playing  quite a prominent place in the color of the year, but you know, also it’s interesting because  it doesn’t really matter what country you’re in.

Yellow is caution, especially yellow and black together. Graphically the strongest color combinations.

A gray, black and white photo really works well with yellow.

It shows up again in this wonderful poster and how they’ve used yellow, which can seem to be a weak color or light color, but it can be used very powerfully.

Wow, look at this website and the yellow of an egg. How healthy is that?

I began to look at other websites that are using yellow successfully.

The one on the left would be considered more of an older design. There’s really strong color blocks, but we are moving into a time, and design, especially with websites that people are on the internet and on their computers so much that they were looking for a more soothing look. So you can see on the right, the little shocks of yellow, which actually are much more modern feeling.

This website uses a brighter yellow. Almost like the egg yolk yellow, which will also work. And there again, it’s interesting as you see everything in gray. And then the yellows. Yellow could get very strong, very quickly. My eye immediately is drawn to where the yellow is. And here’s another design that is also feeling modern.

 I wanted to show you a website that has been using yellow for a very long time.

 Guess whose website it is? Amy Porterfield. In fact when I first heard Pantone present on yellow and gray, and I thought Amy has been using yellow forever.

That has been her brand color for years. And the way she uses it; she’s highlights text with it, but she also finds images that have yellow in them. And it’s interesting here. Guess what last year’s Pantone color of the year was? It was this denim color, so she’s very color conscious. Also blue and yellow together are great, but there again, she has used yellow time and time again. And then here her yellow buttons.

One thing I learned about yellow at a cash register. Next time you’re checking out at a grocery or department store, be aware of what colors are around the cash register, because the color yellow, they have found, actually creates more sales. If something is yellow, people are more inclined to pick it up.

And the other thing I want to show you, say you wanted to find an image, as I did here in this sweet little girl.

I went to my favorite resource, which is Adobe stock. And I simply typed in yellow Pantone 2021. I got 722 images to choose from. So I thought, ‘Gee, if I can do that with my paid stock photography. Can I also do that with Unsplash?’ which is another one of my favorite free stocks?

Sure enough. I typed in yellow Pantone 2021 because yellow is the most prominent color. I could also type in gray, which I’ll show you. But look what came up. These are free images.

I thought it was a really nice way  to add yellow to your site in your blog pages.

You can add also then into your social media posts.

As I began to choose my topics that I’m going to be using in blog posts and on social media and LinkedIn, here are some images that I chose and that’s all from that Pantone color of the year.

So that Adobe stock that’s not free, is it?

No, it’s not. I believe it’s $19.99, so $20 a month for the Adobe stock. However,  Unsplash is a  great free resource. Just type in gray Pantone. And they spell it. Gray, G R A Y versus G R E Y. Let’s see what comes up, gray Pantone 2021.

So they’re giving you some grayes and also here’s a beautiful image. So you can find more gray images, and then you add a little bit of yellow onto the gray, as you saw earlier. That is a really nice way to bring in these two colors of the year. 

Any questions?

No, but I would comment, you know, Nancy that yellow in the chakras works with that mental level works with that third chakra.

So people are always drawn to yellow because it’s a mental level.

Oh. So it’s at the top, right?

No, it’s a third chakra. Third solar plexus. If you were printing out a flyer. When we used to do flyers before we had all this digital, we used to always print them on yellow paper, because it was more attractive.

How wonderful. I know Elsie loves to wear yellow.

Yes, I look good in yellow. Some people find that depending on your coloring, they find it can be difficult to wear. Well, Alan, you have on yellow for gold.

Well, it’s sort of yellow. Yes. Yellow.

You’ve come to the right place.

I looked down this morning, so what I was wearing.

Go forth and try to use some yellow.

Elsie also has a lot of gold in her site and she loves golds. So she’s really very current.

And the other trend.  Ihis is coming from the home interior trends and it’s very strong as well in IKEA. As people are spending more time at home, they are getting more cozy. So cozy colors. 

Also trending, and they say that a big trend that has happened in home interiors. All of the paint companies, Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams. They’ve all taken the shift together and they are terracotta, warm, and deeper earthy jewel tones.

So a little burst of yellow, bring a little excitement into your room.

That’s true.

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