Monthly Moodboard challenge: Pantone 2021 colours of the year

Each month we pick a topic and create a moodboard to interpret the theme. This month's inspiration is Pantone's choice of colours of the year for 2021: Ultimate Grey & Illumination.





Pantone describe their 2021 colour of the year pairing as "a marriage of color conveying a message of strength and hopefulness that is both enduring and uplifting". The colours are a reminder of contradiction and contrast; not just of their visual element, but also their symbolism and link with the physical world.


brutalism concrete yellow grey floral contrast moodboard concept
Pantone Colour of the Year. Moodboard created by Georgia Vintner, individual images from various sources.

”One is a lack of colour and the other is the colour of the sun- the source of all life on earth."


Strength and Hopefulness


Do we all see strength and hopefulness in these colours?


Grey and yellow are contrasting in every way they can be. The saturation of the colours, the brightness of the colours, as well as their association with real-world objects.

Grey is associated with concrete, cityscapes, and other man-made objects, whilst yellow has associations with florals and sunshine. One is a lack of colour and the other is the colour of the sun- the source of all life on earth.


So. whilst creating my moodboard (above), I was constantly thinking about this idea of contrast. The cold, hard edges of concrete, next to the softness and comfort of yellow; the man-made textures of Ultimate Grey, compared to soft, fluffy and natural textures of Illuminating.



Brutalism and Sunshine


London Southbank Centre, by Ben Sekulowicz

Being a Londoner, this colour combination will also forever remind me of the South Bank centre. I adore the geometric patterns of the concrete and contrasting yellow of the paintwork at this London Landmark. I'd love to know if the guys at Pantone were aware of this strong connection when choosing the colours!



yellow stairwell concrete blue sky
London Southbank Centre, by Simone Hutsch


Fancy a Challenge?


How do you interpret these colours? Let me know your thoughts and how your moodboard would look here.


I'll also be opening up the Monthly Moodboard Challenge on our Instagram page for all to get involved, with briefs for quick 1-hour moodboards to inspire creative projects of all disciplines!



All the best,

Georgia