Orange: Top Hue of 2012

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``There's the element of encouragement with orange, it's building on the ideas of courage and action, and that we want to move on to better things. Photo: Creole Collection
``There's the element of encouragement with orange, it's building on the ideas of courage and action, and that we want to move on to better things. Photo: Creole Collection

NEW YORK - The world doesn't need more gray, and the blues are covered, too. What consumer products need is a jolt, a shot of energy and boldness, all of which comes from Tangerine Tango, the reddish-orange hue that Pantone announced as its top color for 2012.

``There's the element of encouragement with orange, it's building on the ideas of courage and action that we want to move on to better things. I think it would be a disservice to go with a relaxed, soothing color now,'' said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, the research division of Pantone Inc., which creates color standards for the fashion, beauty and home industries.

The annual forecast for the next year's dominant color takes into consideration both what Pantone thinks shoppers want and need. Those are influenced by the designer runways, fabric shows, news events, pop culture and consumer habits. ``Part of what we do is look at the zeitgeist,'' Eiseman explained. ``We have to look at everything in the world around us. It's not an arbitrary choice.''

Consumers weren't always so keen to orange, however, said Eiseman, who wrote the new book ``Pantone: The 20th Century in Color.'' It's been used a lot in high fashion think Versace and Hermes for years, but to the general public, especially in the United States, it was more closely associated with fast food or children's products, she explained. It all started to change as computers opened many doors in the 1990s.

``When use of the computer started taking off, you could see the awareness of colors used in other cultures. The orange began to come through. Italians got it and certain Asian countries like India and Indonesia used orange, and then it started to make its way into the mainstream. And then in 1998 one of the iMac choices was orange,'' Eiseman said. ``And at this point, we're ready to acknowledge orange as a `happening' color.'' APBy SAMANTHA CRITCHELLAssociated Press text, photo and/or graphic material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. Neither these AP Materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and non-commercial use. The AP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions therefrom or in the transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages arising from any of the foregoing.

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