Have you guessed? The popular color of 202 1 is bright yellow+extremely gray.

Following the coral orange of 20 19 and the classic blue of 2020, people may expect the popular color of 202 1 to be darker and colder. However, unexpectedly, Pan Tong Color Research Institute awarded the popular color of 202 1 to two completely different colors-"bright yellow" and "extremely gray".

Energetic sunny yellow and practical rock-solid gray are the official explanations of these two colors. The appearance of yellow is closely related to the worship of the sun in ancient times, so it is also considered as the representative color of "beaming" and "happiness". The choice of gray is a bit subtle-previous studies have shown that gray is often associated with depression and sadness. However, Pan Tong's team believes that gray is the color of rock, and its toughness and reliability are their preferred meanings.

This is the second time in 22 years that Pan Tong has chosen two colors when choosing the color of the year. The last time was on 20 15, and rose quartz powder and quiet blue were selected. In that year, these two colors were intended to blend with each other, reflecting the recognition of gender equality and social progress. But this year, these two colors are not only independent individuals, but also complement each other and set each other off. "No color can convey the meaning of this moment," Laurie Plesmann, deputy director of Pan Tong Color Research Institute, said in an interview. "In 2020, people have a deeper understanding of how we need each other's spiritual support and hope."

Yellow stimulates the eyes and symbolizes people's thirst for light.

Besides red, yellow is one of the oldest colors in art history. Yellow exists in the paintings of ancient Egypt and Rome, and can even be traced back to cave paintings in prehistoric times. Ochre is also one of the oldest pigments, and it is this pigment made of natural minerals that has been used in cave murals for more than 17000 years.

It is said that the appearance of yellow is closely related to primitive people's worship of the sun, and because of this, yellow is usually regarded as a warm color, and people give it happiness and optimism.

However, during the industrial revolution, the status of yellow declined obviously, which was related to the new aesthetic orientation brought by the industrial revolution. The new social order and moral standards mean rejecting bright colors and giving priority to "low-key" colors such as white, black, gray and brown.

Despite this, yellow has not withdrawn from the historical stage, which is the credit of several generations of painters. Eugène Delacroix, a French romantic master, once wrote: "As we all know, yellow and orange are beautiful colors, symbolizing joy and joy." It was the impressionist painters who used yellow to the extreme for the first time, and Van Gogh was one of the best. He is famous for using bright colors. Studies show that yellow is Van Gogh's favorite color. This can be found in his Sunflowers and The Yellow House. In Iris, Van Gogh contrasted the blue of flowers with the bright yellow background. In Starry Night, he emphasized the stars and the moon with yellow. Renoir, another impressionist painter, will use yellow to increase the luster and clarity of his hair, or use yellow to highlight the most important element in painting-like a boat in a boat.

Yellow is really a visible color. It will jump out of other colors in an instant and give you a push. That's why outside the art world, people often use yellow to attract attention. For example, the helmets and clothes of construction workers, the costumes of clowns, the appearance of taxis and emergency vehicles, and so on.

However, apart from practical application, until today, yellow has not become the mainstream color. In fact, people don't like it very much-in a color acceptance survey, only 6% respondents said that their favorite color is yellow. The painter wassily kandinsky once put forward a point: "Bright yellow seems to hurt the eyes, but the eyes can't stand it. People will think of the harsh sound from the horn, which will stimulate and sting ... "

Such "exciting" colors make ordinary people flinch from yellow, but they have successfully attracted the attention of fauvism painters, who have become fans of yellow. Around 1905, young fauvism painters embraced this color with the greatest enthusiasm: Dylan, Matisse, Mankin, Flamenco ... Under the influence of Gauguin and Van Gogh, they became veritable "color fanatics". They make good use of solid colors, so that the use of colors is out of all the restrictions in the "predecessor" specification. Fauvism painters, under the banner of "poetic and willful colors", pour any color on the objects under the brush at will. "The purpose of color is to express the needs of the painter, not to see things."

All these "outrageous" behaviors benefited Huang. Fauvism painters use yellow extensively and give it warm, bright and saturated colors.

Gray itself has no color, but it can give people lasting power.

In the 22 years since Pan Tong announced the annual fashion color, yellow was selected for the second time, while gray won this honor for the first time. In fact, gray is not even a "color". In color theory, gray is a neutral or "achromatic" color, which means it is a color lacking in color because it is only composed of black and white.

Gray is an emotionless color. Transcendence, justice and neutrality. However, this does not mean that it is a safe color. The gray color in the environment indicates a state of self-confidence and calmness, and can also arouse associations about strength and durability. Layatrice eissmann, the executive director of Pan Tong, pointed out in her book The Color of Every Emotion: "Gray represents firmness and persistence, which is the connection caused by the color of rocks; In ancient times, this was the color of stone pillars and temples, resisting the erosion of time. "

During the Renaissance, gray became a popular color. Decorative oil paintings in this period were almost completely finished in gray and neutral tones, and the elegant depth and tone made them look like stone carvings. Later, El greco and Rembrandt also explored the changes in the depth of shadows and light that can be achieved by using gray. In their works, gray can make the paintings more realistic and have a gloomy and subtle atmosphere.

The marriage of grey and fashion appeared in19th century. At that time, Parisian fashion promoted rich colors among high-end women, while London and new york fashion circles thought that gray was the most suitable color for men's business dress. The first gray suit appeared in London in the middle of19th century. Wearing a light gray suit in summer and a dark gray suit in winter still has lasting significance in today's men's suit industry.

What really makes the subtle connection between gray and fashion is the invention of photography and film. 1935 before the invention of color film, gray was the main color of photographic works; Before the advent of color movies in the late 1930s, gray was also the main color of movies. Until now, photography and movies in gray tones still have an eternal and eye-catching texture.

In cities, roads and reinforced concrete buildings make gray everywhere, and this neutral "colorless" is equated with negative emotions such as depression, loneliness and boredom. But contemporary designers have found that when gray appears as an independent color, it can make people calm or depressed according to the intensity of shadows. When gray is matched with brighter colors, it is an ideal background for other colors to shine. Designers began to rediscover the function of gray as an extremely elegant and fashionable color. In practical application, gray will neutralize the surrounding environment and other colors. For example, the combination of gray and soft pink can produce a feminine tenderness, while the combination with dark color can bring a more masculine texture.

Pan Tong color research is famous for predicting colors and trends. Every year, the popular colors selected by Pan Tong are widely used in fashion, beauty, interior design and even industrial design. But what most people don't understand is that "annual fashion color" not only guides the fashion trend, but also represents the social trend and public psychology with color.

In fact, the relationship between color and people's psychological state is one of the long-term research topics of psychologists. The results show that color has a real influence on people's behavior.

Because of this, the color experts of Pan Tong Color Research Institute put forward the concept of "representative color of the year" in 2000, and put forward a color to "endorse" the coming year at the end of the previous year. The original intention of putting forward "representative color" is to understand people's emotional expectation of color from the perspective of color psychology and logic, and how to express people's inner demands with color. By studying the social dynamics around the world, we can study the social function of color and the influence that color can exert.

"What are we pursuing in this special year? What color best represents our inner desire? " This is the ultimate question put forward by Pan Tong color researchers at the end of 2020.

Instead of predicting the changing trend of color through cold big data, the investigators found that at this special moment, the healing effect of color on people's psychology will become more important than the change of fashion trend. Therefore, in the selection of popular colors in 20021year, colors that make people feel relaxed, calm, positive and tenacious become the best choice.

After some thinking, people may suddenly realize that "bright yellow" and "extremely gray" may not be the popular colors that everyone expects, but they may be what the world really needs now.

Author: Xu