Pantone Color of the Year: Ultraviolet Creative Challenge

“The Pantone Color of the Year has come to mean so much more than ‘what’s trending’ in the world of design; it’s truly a reflection of what’s needed in our world today.” – Laurie Pressman, Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute.

As a creative, I always try to find ways to challenge myself. It keeps ideas fresh, skills sharp, and opens up potential for projects. Being the unapologetic graphic design nerd that I am, I always geek out when Pantone announces their Color of the Year. As it is the first month of the year, this also seemed an appropriate way to kick off these next twelve months.

2018’s color is Ultraviolet--a whimsical, inspiring, thoughtful, and provocative shade. It has been worn by icons such as the late David Bowie, and, of course, Prince. It is a color that sparks a fire from within to push boundaries and create from the heart. I tried to carry these ideas out within this self portrait. For me, 2017 was a year of discovery. I am striving to make 2018 a year of found confidence in myself, my work, and my career. Wherever my new position and side hustles take me, I am along for the ride and am pretty damn excited about what’s in store.

Looking for a creative challenge? Join our Facebook group: The Creative Hustle Club. We will have a monthly challenge that all members are encouraged to participate in.

You can also find challenges elsewhere, such as Instagram’s Weekend Hashtag Project. Every Friday, Instagram announces the upcoming weekend’s theme through a post. Instagrammers are encouraged to create posts that fit the theme of that hashtag and tag the photo as well for a chance to be featured the upcoming week. With millions of users, getting featured is extremely rare, but it is a great way to use your creative super powers and have some fun over the weekend.

Check out Brief Box--a website with a library of creative briefs for graphic designers looking to learn new skills, refine current skills, and develop a portfolio they can use in the real world. There are free and paid memberships, and new projects are uploaded to the collection regularly.

Of course, you can always come up with your own creative challenges--especially if you are someone who is always looking to learn new things. Having your own creative projects is a great way to do what you really want to, and you never know what might arise from these creations.

Sincerely,

The Girl in the Unicorn Pajamas

PS: If you love this color, Pantone made color books in all sorts of shades of Ultraviolet just in case you needed more purple in your life.