When Pantone announced their Colour of the Year the design industry explodes. Everybody from web designers to upholsterers wants to find a way of using the colour of the year in a proactive and ingenious way. For 2013 the Pantone Colour of the Year is Emerald 17-5641 and as we’re past the half way mark it’s a good time to see how website design has adapted and incorporated this colour and how it can be used to great effect.

1. Pantone Colour of the Year 2013, Is Emerald 17-5641
When Pantone announced their Colour of the Year the design industry
explodes. Everybody from web designers to upholsterers wants to find a
way of using the colour of the year in a proactive and ingenious way.
For 2013 the Pantone Colour of the Year is Emerald 17-5641 and as we’re
past the half way mark it’s a good time to see how website design has
adapted and incorporated this colour and how it can be used to great
effect.
Having a colour that’s designated on trend each year is a fantastic way of
creating buzz around the field of design and Emerald 17-5641 has been
described as ‘Lively. Radiant. Lush.’ Green has many connotations, that of
luxury and regeneration as well as its natural associations. Below we’re
taking a look into how you can combine the colour of the year in your
website design projects.

2. Emerald as the Dominant Colour
As the dominant colour emerald can be used in a number of ways and is
often used to be representative of money or nature. It’s a popular colour for
environmental marketing and branding websites, with the connotation that
‘green’ is representative of environmental or ecological issues.
Emerald can be successfully used as the background colour for a web
design as it can be easily paired with other colours and therefore doesn’t
look out of place. The Emerald green with hints of blue that’s demonstrated
in Pantone Emerald 17-5641 is very striking when used as the sole colour in
a design. It’s a striking shade which makes you stop and take a second
glance, even without any adornment.
Green on green designs have also become popular as they combine Pantone
Emerald 17-5641 with complimentary shades and create a striking
monotonicity.

3. Emerald as an Accent Colour
If you don’t feel like going all out and using Pantone Emerald 17-5641 as
your dominant colour then you can work it in as an accent. It can be used
cleverly as an accent in call-to-action elements and areas where you’re
trying to drive the end user. This theory works because sub-consciously we
have learned to associate shades of green to mean GO.
Work it into your design for buttons that need to be clicked such as
subscription sign-ups or even buying buttons.
The depth and definition of Emerald 17-5641 can actually work well for
text too. It can be incorporated into drop shadows or used for hyperlinks –
it allows a design to be taken to another level. Emerald accents paired
with light backgrounds creates a minimalist but energetic feel and could
work for clients in a range of different industries.

4. Where Emerald Works
Below are a few examples of websites where Emerald 17-5641 is being put to
great use.
Under the Weather
Under the Weather is a website that looks are how climate change affects health
and therefore is the perfect candidate to utilise emerald. The website combines a
range of different shades of green but the emerald they utilise is particularly
striking. It’s the obvious choice for a ‘green’ company who are focused on the
environment.

5. Cocoon Studio
Cocoon Studio is an example of a website that uses emerald in an
understated way, to accent the rest of their design. The colour is central to
the design without being overpowering and serves as a light and fresh
accent to a minimalist design.

6. F.E.W.
F.E.W. takes advantage of the whole green colour palette to combine shades
which complement each other closes. They utilise blue-green hues and two
emeralds which create a fresh harmonised effect which fits spectacularly
with the agency’s choice of image.

7. Back to Portlandia

8. Heineken – Remix our future
Working emerald into your design will ensure it’s completely on trend and
can be manipulated to match almost any client’s needs.