--- title: Pantone Announces Two Colors of the Year for 2016 description: In an unprecedented move, color authority Pantone has chosen two different shades to share the title of color of the year for 2016. canonical: https://time.com/4134544/pantone-color-of-the-year-serenity-rose-quartz/ author: Megan McCluskey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-03T16:23:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:27:20.491Z og:title: Pantone Has Announced Two Colors of the Year for the First Time Ever og:description: The pairing is meant to challenge "traditional perceptions of color association" og:url: https://time.com/4134544/pantone-color-of-the-year-serenity-rose-quartz/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt24e413324ea1c0b9/6988739ee20a87448da8e772/pantone-colors-of-year.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Fashion Color of the Year og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Pantone Has Announced Two Colors of the Year for the First Time Ever twitter:description: The pairing is meant to challenge "traditional perceptions of color association" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt24e413324ea1c0b9/6988739ee20a87448da8e772/pantone-colors-of-year.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Pantone Has Announced Two Colors of the Year for the First Time Ever  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Dec 3, 2015 4:23 PM UTC  These color swatch images released by Pantone shows a shade of pink, called Rose Quartz and a shade of blue, called Serenity. The experts at the Pantone Color Institute have chosen two colors of the year. These color swatch images released by Pantone shows a shade of pink, called Rose Quartz and a shade of blue, called Serenity. The experts at the Pantone Color Institute have chosen two colors of the year.Pantone—AP  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Dec 3, 2015 4:23 PM UTC Color authority [Pantone](http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/index.aspx) has chosen two different shades to share the title of color of the year for 2016\. Dubbed Serenity and Rose Quartz, they are hues of pale blue and pink, respectively, and will be the _in_ colors next year across fashion, makeup and interior design, according to the company. “Rose Quartz is a persuasive yet gentle tone that conveys compassion and a sense of composure,” said the team of color experts in a [statement](http://www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year-2016). “Serenity is weightless and airy, like the expanse of the blue sky above us, bringing feelings of respite and relaxation even in turbulent times.” The two pastels are much more subdued than some of Pantone’s past picks, such as last year’s [Marsala](http://time.com/3617823/there-may-be-50-shades-of-red-but-only-marsala-is-the-color-of-the-year/) and 2014’s [Radiant Orchid](http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/12/05/this-is-the-color-of-the-year-for-2014/). And while the pair may invoke thoughts of conventional baby colors for many, Pantone said that isn’t the aim. Instead, the decision is meant to challenge “traditional perceptions of color association.” “In many parts of the world we are experiencing a gender blur as it relates to fashion, which has in turn impacted color trends throughout all other areas of design,” said Leatrice Eiseman, Pantone’s executive director. “This more unilateral approach to color is coinciding with societal movements toward gender equality and fluidity, the consumer’s increased comfort with using color as a form of expression, a generation that has less concern about being typecast or judged and an open exchange of digital information that has opened our eyes to different approaches to color usage.” Pantone Announces Two Colors of the Year for 2016 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4134544/pantone-color-of-the-year-serenity-rose-quartz/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4134544/pantone-color-of-the-year-serenity-rose-quartz/"},"headline":"Pantone Has Announced Two Colors of the Year for the First Time Ever","datePublished":"2015-12-03T16:23:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:27:20.491Z","description":"The pairing is meant to challenge \"traditional perceptions of color association\"","url":"https://time.com/4134544/pantone-color-of-the-year-serenity-rose-quartz/","keywords":["Newsfeed","fashion","Companies","Design","makeup","color"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt24e413324ea1c0b9/6988739ee20a87448da8e772/pantone-colors-of-year.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan McCluskey","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt24e413324ea1c0b9/6988739ee20a87448da8e772/pantone-colors-of-year.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Fashion Color of the Year","caption":"Fashion Color of the Year","creditText":"Pantone—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4134544/pantone-color-of-the-year-serenity-rose-quartz/","name":"Pantone Has Announced Two Colors of the Year for the First Time Ever"}}]}] ```