Pantone, Inc. is best known as the source of industry-standard references for color. The brand primarily targets design professionals. It is fair to say that Pantone revolutionized the graphic arts industry by allowing designers and printers to categorize and replicate color, accurately, anywhere in the world, by referring to uniform color palettes.

Recently, though, Pantone has begun to branch out, addressing a new audience: consumers. Pantone Universe is a new, multifaceted sub-brand that makes Pantone color the centerpiece of everything it does, from the Pantone Universe magazine to a line of themed products ranging from eyewear and jewelry to kitchen gadgets and more.

Garnering attention in the media recently is the logo created for the Nuclear Security Summit, hosted by President Obama in Washington, DC last week. A theory popularized by a FOX News segment, but also running rampant across various newspapers and blogs, claims that the logo echoes the Islamic crescent moon and star symbol.

As a design professional, the recent flap over IKEA’s decision to change its typeface from Futura to Verdana really struck close to home for me.

IKEA has long been held up as a prime example of good design that reflects and contributes to the brand. Futura is a very clean, contemporary typeface that dovetails perfectly with IKEA’s Swedish heritage and streamlined, efficient product line.

The Pantone Color Institute has released the top 10 colors chosen by New York fashion designers for their Spring 2010 Ready to Wear collections. Being a graphic designer, I was intrigued by the neutrality of the colors, even in the five “brights.” Why, for such a cheerful season of renewal, are consumers being given such neutral options, seeing that last spring brought vibrant pops of color?

(Top row, left to right: Pink Champagne, Tuscany, Fusion Coral, Turquoise, Violet;
Bottom row, left to right: Aurora. Eucalyptus, Dried Herb, Amparo Blue, Tomato Puree)

My lifelong relationship with type began on my 7th birthday with the gift of a tiny hand cranked printing press. It used adhesive backed rubber type stuck to a revolving drum and inked by hand with a roller, known in the trade as a “brayer.”

Fast forward 10 years to my high-school Graphic Arts class where I learned the mysteries of lead type. Hand kerning headlines, “locking up” a job with “furniture” and “quoins” and my immense pride at being able to correctly identify the contents of each compartment in a California job case¹ – those wonderful wooden drawers with a separate compartment for each and every character and punctuation mark in a font – blindfolded.