Viva Magenta, the Pantone Colour of the Year for 2023

Viva Magenta

I love January, a new year and new beginnings when our thoughts are full of resolutions and goals for the year to come. But, what I really love about January is the publication of the Pantone colour of the year. This is so important for designers and creators as it often sets many of the design trends for the year ahead and this is especially true for floristry and floral design. Plus, we get a brand new colour to play with…

So, here we come 2023 with Viva Magenta! Taken from the family of red, this colour takes on a crimson hue with a splash of pink and some would suggest a dash of blue for a violet hue. it stand out

Meaning & Symbolism

Fire and Warmth

Strength and Passion

Life and Health

Courage and Bravery

Let’s explore Viva Magenta and the red family to unpack the meanings and symbolism behind this dramatic colour. Red is a bold and brave colour, it represents life and health as red is the colour of blood. On the one hand it symbolises anger and war but it also also symbolises courage and love, being the colour of Valentine’s Day. Most importantly, strength and passion underlies all these emotions. Strength is something many of us is going to need this year and hopefully these colours will keep us all courageous and strong. I think this is especially true when the colours are merged into the pinks of magenta.

However, the clever twist on Viva Magenta is taking the colour red towards the hues of pink. Pink symbolises playfulness and nurture. So alongside the steady resolve of red is a much more optimistic and caring feel with the Magenta. This gives us the opportunity to escape our worries and all designers love to build dreams and positivity into their work.

Playful Pinks

Caring Optimism

Why we love Viva Magenta!

As a florist, I am loving Viva Magenta because it is such a flower friendly colour. Almost all flowers come in some shade of red, making this an easy colour to work with. Here’s just a few…

Coleus Leaves

Rose

Hydrangea

Chrysanthemums

Colour Combinations

Viva Magenta is also a colour that can play very well with other colours. It’s best friend would have to be green as red/green is a complimentary colour harmony, most well known as a representation of Christmas. But when we start to work with the tints, tones and shades of these two colours we can find some beautiful combinations and I am liking Viva Magenta paired up with soft sage greens. Due to it’s hint of violet, Viva Magenta can also work well with blue which is helpful as this is a colour which is still trending and often asked for. Again, we can play with the shades and take it down to aqua and grey.

Aqua Greens to Blues

Soft Sage Green Foliage

Eucalyptus

Eryngium or Sea Holly

Key Trend

A key trend is to take a range of pastel colours from the blues, greens, pinks and yellows shown below, and insert pops of Magenta either in groups or throughout a design. I think this will work perfectly with flowers and the contrast will look amazing.

Maybe something a bit like this….

What about you❓

Do you love it? 😍

Do you hate it? 🙄

Is it something that can grow on you? 🤔

As always, I would love to know your thoughts 🙂

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