Classic Blue, Pantone’s 2020 Color of the Year & Its Impact on Anxiety

For the past 20 years, those of us who geek out about color, have waited anxiously for the announcement of Pantone’s Color of The Year. The Pantone Color Institute seems to capture the global mood and attitude with its color choice, and this year is no different.

The 2020 Color of the Year is Classic Blue, or 19-4052, if you’re super nerdy like me. According to Pantone, the color is a boundless blue that evokes the vastness of the infinite evening sky. But for many others, it is a very soothing, calming color that many people have dubbed “anti-anxiety blue.”

What Does Classic Blue Mean for Anxiety?

This color is welcome in a world that needs a little more calming and soothing and a little less anxiety. A lot of us feel stressed and overloaded by our 25/7 lives. In the first few weeks of the New Year, I’ve read countless articles about destressing, unplugging, and leading a slower lifestyle.

We all seem to crave it, but don’t know how to create it for ourselves. We’re all looking for signs to determine if we need to take a mental health day, not to mention ways to calm an anxious mind. This soothing color has a calming, relaxing effect that makes us feel grounded in our space.

What Does Anti-Anxiety Blue Mean for the New Year?

Everyone seems to be feeling some anxiety and uncertainty about the future. And technology, for all its benefits, has sped the pace of life up so much that we cannot handle everything we are served. We are all aware that this way of life leaves us depleted and unfulfilled, yet we often seem unable to find a way out of it.

Anti-anxiety blue sets the tone for the coming year, not just in fashion, home goods, and technology, but in our collective psyches. It’s the right time for a color that instills calmness, confidence, and connection while highlighting our need for a stable and dependable foundation to build on as we move into a new era. It’s a lot to ask of a color, but anti-anxiety blue seems up to the task.

Melancholy Blue Makes Way for Hope and Optimism

This reassuring color is filled with hope and optimism, as well as anticipation as we look ahead to the coming year. You’ll probably see a lot of it this year, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s a reminder to re-prioritize your well-being and create a sanctuary from the chaotic, and yes, sometimes the anxiety-inducing state of the world.

For generations, the color blue has been associated with melancholy and sadness, But the times they are a-changin’. Classic Blue helps us look past the obvious to expand our thinking. It challenges us to think more deeply, widen our perspective, communicate more freely. And whether or not you are a color nerd like me, this year we welcome blue as the color of hope and calm, and possibly a little less anxiety.

A Word from GR8NESS

We hope adding a little Anti-Anxiety Blue, as we like to call it, to your home or accessories will foster calmness and connection in your life. If you are experiencing anxiety, symptoms such as fatigue, restlessness, irritability, difficulty concentrating, and sleep issues, speak with your doctor as soon as possible.