Dear reader – I know you have been anxiously waiting. Plans held up, redecorating put on hold, perhaps holding off on that new car color all because you needed to know what exactly is going to be the color for 2024. (/s) Surprise, surprise – Pantone® did not take my hint in my 2023 post for Sustainable Saffron. It is <dramatic pause> … Peach Fuzz. The slogan on their page is “Embrace the Warmth.” I’d suggest making yourself a Fuzzy Navel¹ now, or two, or three.

It does make me wonder if a summer filled with Barbie® pink had any influence on this selection for 2024. And, after what will notably be the warmest year on record for the planet … “Embrace the Warmth”? Read the room folks.

I know I have approached this publicity event with a certain degree of cynicism in the past even though I continue to follow it. I freely admit I don’t belong even in the same paint factory as a color expert. I explore color and visual psychology enough to be dangerous as they say. Creatively, it is a treasure hunt to wander through your archives hunting for a specific color to match.

Going back to Pantone®’s 2019 COTY Living Coral – I wished they would bring more environmental awareness of the problems facing this planet given how much press this campaign generates. To some extent, they claim they do, just not so much with the COTY. Sure, there are dangers of it being a hypocrisy trap given some of the frivolous products the color generates, but they have a top-notch marketing team to navigate those waters.

In my attempt to not be too dense or close-minded, I do understand that the warmth being referred to here is more the warmth of a hug than scorching record temperatures. So it may indeed be a particularly insightful pick given what is going to undoubtedly be a turbulent and stressful year ahead. With the current conflicts going on, the 2024 U.S. Presidential campaign, and El Niño perhaps being stronger in 2024 driving temperatures up further — a hug-worthy color may just be what people are going to need, albeit a sweaty one. I appreciate pushing a positive vibe of hope and connection – we are going to need it. If a color can bring those thoughts to mind – more, please.

Photographically, like some past years, this is a tough one to search for. I don’t have a single keyword for “peach.” It’s not exactly a color I am drawn to. Plenty for “fuzzy.” So this Color of the Year matchup is going to be akin to finding fuzzy slippers in a locker room, a peach tree growing in the desert, …ah, well, you get the point. Since it looks like a blend of orange and tan (I can see your eyes rolling color gurus), those keywords may reveal some close enough matches, along with images keyworded as “pastels.”

With that, I offer my “close enough” matches for the Color of the Year 2024 – Peach Fuzz. As always, this silly exercise is once-a-year marketing buzz (there goes my cynicism creeping in again). Don’t take it too seriously. I know paint companies have launched copycat campaigns, but I would hope a paint color for a room would be intended for longer than a year – or anything for that matter. Then what?

Is the eloquently prepared message now obsolete? Where do all past colors go to die? Is Mimosa sitting around on a porch somewhere in a rocking chair with a whisky (not Mimosas!) and a cigar recounting stories of the good ol’ days to any passerby who will listen? Will Radiant Orchid be at ComicCon offering signed swatches? People need to know to know these things, not just move on at the end of the year.

We do need some fun in this world, which is why I continue to follow this little event. Color can be powerful. If some new color can bring some momentary joy into someone’s life considering the many hellscapes out there, even if just for a year, who am I to say otherwise? I wish Pantone® and their collaborators a successful campaign. Maybe a 2025 color consideration would be Burnt Toast? (kidding!! … or am I?) Now, where’s that schnapps?

Color of the Year 2024 Peach Fuzz photos

(In the past, some have been inspired to do their exercise on their own – so please let me know and we can exchange links which I’ll include below)

1. Fuzzy Navel: a mixed drink of peach schnapps and orange juice introduced in the 1980s as part of a marketing campaign to sell more peach schnapps ↩︎