From Swatches to Strategy: How Brands Use Pantone to Color Their Story

In partnership with

When you think of brand strategy, you might think about positioning, messaging, or pricing. But there’s another, often-overlooked force shaping how customers perceive your brand — color.

Every year, Pantone announces its Color of the Year, and the design world pays attention. But beneath the surface, this tradition reflects something deeper: how brands use color not just to attract attention, but to signal identity, emotion, and intent.

For startups, understanding color isn’t about chasing trends — it’s about mastering one of the most powerful psychological levers in branding.

From Printing Ink to a Global Language

Pantone’s story began in the 1960s with a simple mission: to bring consistency to color printing. Before Pantone, asking for “sky blue” could yield ten different results, depending on the printer or the mix.

So Pantone created the Pantone Matching System (PMS) — a universal color catalog that gave every shade a precise code. Designers could now specify a color in New York and have it reproduced exactly in Tokyo.

That precision turned Pantone from a printing utility into a design standard — and eventually, a cultural influence.

Today, Pantone colors define how brands look, feel, and even behave. They’re not just hues — they’re identity markers.

The Color of the Year: Mood as a Marketing Metric

Since 2000, Pantone has been announcing a “Color of the Year,” a hue chosen after global research into fashion, culture, technology, and sentiment.

The color isn’t arbitrary — it reflects how people feel.

• 2009: Mimosa — a warm yellow for optimism after economic collapse.

• 2016: Rose Quartz and Serenity — soft tones for balance in a divided world.

• 2020: Classic Blue — stability amid uncertainty.

• 2023: Viva Magenta — boldness in a post-pandemic world.

• 2024: Peach Fuzz — a warm, tender peach tone symbolizing care, connection, and comfort in a world craving softness.

• 2025: Mocha Mousse — an evocative, soft, and warming brown that is sophisticated and comforting.

When Pantone speaks, the creative world listens — and brands act. Each year, companies release limited-edition products, packaging, and campaigns inspired by the chosen color.

It’s not about copying a shade. It’s about aligning with a cultural pulse — the emotional wavelength your audience is already tuned into.

Why Startups Should Care About Color

Startups often obsess over logos, fonts, and taglines — but overlook color as a strategic asset.

Color defines first impressions, builds trust, and evokes emotion faster than any copy or tagline can. In a split second, your color palette communicates who you are and how you want to be remembered.

Consider:

• Tiffany & Co. owns Pantone 1837 Blue, synonymous with timeless luxury.

• Coca-Cola’s red signals energy and excitement.

• Starbucks green reflects calm and community.

• Google’s multicolor logo stands for diversity and creativity.

Each brand chose a color that aligns with its values, not just its visuals. And that’s the real key — color isn’t decoration; it’s strategy.

The Psychology of Hue

Color is one of the fastest forms of emotional communication.
Research shows that color increases brand recognition by up to 80% and influences up to 90% of purchasing decisions.

Here’s what your palette might be saying without words:

• Blue: Trust, stability, intelligence.

• Red: Passion, action, urgency.

• Green: Growth, balance, nature.

• Yellow: Optimism, warmth, creativity.

• Black: Sophistication, strength, luxury.

The best founders treat color like a silent co-founder — one that helps tell the brand’s story before the user reads a single line of copy.

Lessons from Pantone for Founders

1. Consistency builds credibility.
   Pantone’s entire business is built on uniformity. Apply that same rigor to your visual identity. Don’t let color drift across products or channels — it erodes trust subconsciously.

2. Emotion drives design.
   The Color of the Year isn’t about pigment; it’s about mood. Great branding captures emotion first, information second.

3. Relevance evolves.
   Just as Pantone evolves with cultural sentiment, your brand palette can adapt — not drastically, but intentionally. A color refresh can signal maturity or a shift in direction.

4. Color is positioning.
   In a market full of noise, your palette can become your shorthand. Use color to own a space in the consumer’s mind — like Slack’s lavender, or Notion’s minimalist black-and-white.

The Startup Stoic Takeaway

Pantone didn’t become powerful by selling color — it became powerful by standardizing perception.

As a founder, that’s your job too: to make your brand’s emotional impact consistent, memorable, and intentional.

Color is one of the most affordable yet underestimated tools you have. It speaks across cultures, transcends language, and shapes trust before you say a word.

So the next time you refine your logo or landing page, ask yourself:

“Does my color tell my story — or just fill the space?”

Because in branding, color isn’t what people see. It’s what they feel.

Until next Startup story,

— Team Startup Stoic