Pantone’s Color of the Year: Peach Fuzz
Every year, I look forward to Pantone’s color of the year announcement. Pantone's color of the year serves as a guide, for industries and creatives alike, and, personally, I love finding ways to incorporate it into client work to help it feel modern and timely. Today, I want to talk about the color, the impact of Pantone’s Color of the Year on visual storytelling in the culinary world, why it’s essential to incorporate this shade into your creative palette, and how it can be used in food and beverage photography.
Looking back through photos of the past to find examples of peach fuzz hues in use.
Unveiling the Color: Peach Fuzz
Every year, Pantone selects a shade that, according to them at least, encapsulates the spirit and trends of the moment. This choice often influences various industries, from fashion and interior design to graphic design and—ding, ding, ding!—food and beverage photography. As soon as the announcement that they had chosen peach fuzz dropped, brands started incorporating it into their marketing efforts and campaigns.
The Psychology of Color in Culinary Imagery
Colors are fascinating to me as a photographer. They have the power to evoke emotions and stir appetites, sure, but there’s also strong psychological implications behind different colors—something you should think about as you plan out your brand’s photography approach for the year! Peach fuzz is no exception: according to Pantone, peach fuzz is a “heartfelt peach hue bringing a feeling of kindness and tenderness, communicating a message of caring and sharing, community and collaboration.” Incorporating this hue into your food and beverage photography can help evoke emotions like:
Warmth and approachability
Youthfulness
Optimism
Harmony
Tenderness
Health
Folding this color into your brand identity and photography in 2024 will help drive home these values, creating scenes that emphasize warmth, positivity, and simple joys.
Keeping Up with Trends
In the competitive world of food and beverage photography, staying current is key. Integrating Pantone's color of the year into your visuals not only demonstrates your awareness of design trends but also helps to drive home those emotional values that are associated with peach fuzz. Obviously, if those values aren’t values that you associate with your brand, this isn’t a color to use in your photography. But even used as an accent color, incorporating this tone can be a fun way to update your photography.
Social media platforms and online platforms are flooded with content every day. We all know this! Using the trending color can help your images catch the eyes of your target audience. It’s one of those things that once you notice it, you'll see it everywhere, no matter how subtle.
This doesn’t mean you need to rebrand to include peach fuzz into your brand colors, though. Pantone suggests using peach fuzz as an accent color or a backdrop color to create a welcoming, approachable feeling in imagery for home and lifestyle brands.
Enhancing Branding and Recognition
Consistency in visual elements, including color schemes, plays a pivotal role in building a brand identity. By accenting your food and beverage photography with Pantone's color of the year, you not only stay on-trend but also establish a recognizable and cohesive feeling through color. This can lead to increased brand recall and a stronger connection with your audience.
Practical Tips for Incorporating Color
Props and Backgrounds: Choose props and backgrounds that complement or highlight peach fuzz. This could be tableware, textiles, or even the backdrop of your photography setting.
Editing and Post-Processing: Use photo editing tools to enhance or adjust the prominence of the trending color in your images. This allows you to experiment with different levels of saturation and intensity within the hues.
Collaboration with Brands: If you're working with food and beverage brands, inquire about their branding guidelines and explore opportunities to integrate the color of the year into your collaborative projects.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Pantone's color of the year, peach fuzz isn’t the it color for the rest of forever—that’s why there’s a different color every year! But staying up to date on the color of the year is fun, and using the color to enhance your food and beverage photography can help make your brand stand out. By understanding the psychological nuances of color, staying on top of design trends, and strategically incorporating the trending hue into your work, you can elevate your imagery, captivate your audience, and establish a distinctive brand identity in the competitive world of culinary visuals.