--- 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: 2026-10-05T08:40:15.715Z 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=1138&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1138 og:image:height: 640 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=1138&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Pantone Has Announced Two Colors of the Year for the First Time Ever > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=a7f69632-78b1-4a2c-8e6a-e3b8c6ce1b77&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Why Pantone Chose Pink And Blue As Its Color Of The Year [Watch (HLS stream): Why Pantone Chose Pink And Blue As Its Color Of The Year](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/gIRnFtYM.m3u8) (1:53)  _Published 2015-12-03. Pantone's 2016 Color of the Year is two colors this time: Rose Quartz and Serenity. Rose quartz is a light pink shade, and Serenity is chalky blue._  by [Megan McCluskey](https://time.com/author/megan-mccluskey/)  ## Megan McCluskey Staff Writer Dec 3, 2015 4:23 PM UTC  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.” ```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":"2026-10-05T08:40:15.715Z","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"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Why Pantone Chose Pink And Blue As Its Color Of The Year","description":"Pantone's 2016 Color of the Year is two colors this time: Rose Quartz and Serenity. 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