Image courtesy of Pantone
Ultrafabrics introduces the new Awakening palette, which incorporates Pantone’s Color of the Year, Viva Magenta. This producer of performance fabrics has applied their shades to a vision of the future workplace, demonstrating how color can impact experiences in a space.
Viva Magenta 18-1750 is a particularly splashy hue, inspired by the red of cochineal, a precious natural dye. Nicole Meier, director of branding at Ultrafabrics, said Pantone’s choice for 2023 brings a much needed vibrancy after being isolated at home during the pandemic. “I think Viva Magenta is very unexpected, but that’s what makes it so appealing. We’re finally shifting away from cocooning in warmer neutrals,” she noted. “We are shaking off the last three years and want to get back out there. We want to be a little more bold in how we present ourselves with fashion and how we decorate our interiors.”
Surprisingly versatile, Meier noted that Viva Magenta was an ideal starting point for the series of tones ultimately selected for Awakening. “I think what is so interesting is that it is almost like a warm and cool shade, and our development team fell in love with it because of how it played with the other colors in the palette. It can shine or be more subdued when it is used as an accent. It’s very chameleon-like.”
Even though clients in all sectors are embracing color, Viva Magenta is perceived by some as anything but an easy, everyday shade. Meier explained that the Ultrafabrics partnership with Pantone allows both companies to introduce the tint to wider audiences, revealing how it can be applied to products and interiors.
Pantone swatches are practically a tool kit staple, and paired with Ultrafabrics’ expertise in all things textile, both companies provide an array of design possibilities. “We have mutual audiences, and we are helping them to conceptualize, making Viva Magenta realistic. We are showing that there is some longevity to it and that it will be around for more than a season,” Meier said.
To ground Viva Magenta, the Ultrafabrics team paired it with colors found in nature. Each tint in the collaborative grouping represents the elements, air, earth, water, and fire. The palette of eight tints brings the energy of the outdoors in. “Magenta is a natural color. In the next couple of months when we get through winter, everything starts to come back to life. Those first flowers pop up from the ground and it revitalizes you. So that was the inspiration.”
Ultrafabrics showcases the Awakening palette in renderings of a modern workplace designed by stylist Olly Mason, for added detail and richness. “We definitely wanted to do the renderings because we’re a visual industry, and it lays out how we are looking ahead and interacting. They give us some ideas of how we want to use color in the office,” Meier said. “It’s not just about soft surfaces or our fabrics exclusively. The rederings offer a complete picture, from the cushions to the greenery. They really capture all of it,” she added.
The refined space features biophilic elements that invigorate the environment and provide contrast to the futuristic 3D-printed concrete components. The feature wall in this imagined office that doubles as a booth is covered in the Vivid Punch tone, Ultrafabrics’ version of Viva Magenta. The rounded, organic sofas covered in green Volar Bio material mirror the surrounding plants, harmonizing the exterior and interior of the building.
For Meier, it is a workplace of potential which allows people to experiment and expand on the theme. ”We wanted to create a dramatic entranceway with the natural light coming in. It is a space to have some impromptu discussions or find a quiet corner to work in. We all are facing the challenge of how to bring people back, and of course, color is not the only solution. A beautiful, functional, and inspirational office like this one though is more of a draw.”
More renderings will be presented throughout the year, including those featuring a hospitality setting, healthcare environment, and a piece of furniture. While Viva Magenta and the Awakening palette are a current focus, Meier noted that every hue has value. “Color is so powerful, it provides such joy. Why not bring that into our spaces whenever we can?”