Consumer trends may be turning greener, but next year’s looking pretty blue: Pantone has deemed Blue Iris (PANTONE 18-3943) as the official color of 2008. Holding a spot in the company’s eco-friendly paint line, Blue Iris is a showy color that moves between bold shades of blue and purple. It’s a bit too bright for larger areas but would serve well as an accent color when paired with a neutral palette. I’m slowly warming up to the color and think that a hint of black might move it into a richer, more subtle realm. Here it is:

Pantone may be the global authority on color, but it certainly has followed a rather curious path through color expansion (whoever needed an entire swatchbook of ghastly pastel colors?). Over the last 40+ years, the company has grown well beyond graphic color management; it now produces premium Dutch-formulated interior paints, custom-dyed textiles and guides for the fashion industry, inkjet cartridges and plastics. You can even get your own Pantone flash drive!.