On Friday, the Pantone Color Institute – which has been declaring a color of the year for more than two decades – announced that 2023 will be the year of magenta. And not just any magenta, but “Viva Magenta 18-750,” described by Pantone as "a shade rooted in nature descending from the red family and expressive of a new signal of strength." After several years of cool shades – this year was periwinkle; 2021 was a twofer, pebble gray and lemon yellow; and 2020 was a muted blue shade that, according to Pantone, “fosters resilience” (talk about prescient!). This year’s buoyant shade indicates an optimism that hasn’t been felt in the last few years. "Three years deep into a pandemic, facing a war, an unstable economy, social unrest, supply chain breakdowns, and mounting climate change, we need to heal," Pantone wrote of its 2023 pick. "And still, we need to find the motivation to continue. Here, Viva Magenta cloaks us in both power and grace, and sends us out into the world with the verve we've yearned for."

Pink will clearly be having a moment in 2023: Pioneering paint company Benjamin Moore has selected “Raspberry Blush 2008-30” as its shade of the year. More of a red-orange than Pantone’s vivid magenta, Benjamin Moore describes the hue as “a vivacious shade of coral tinged with pink.” “People are ready to bring color back into the home, taking a step outside their color comfort zones,” said Andrea Magno, color marketing and development director at Benjamin Moore. To celebrate the announcement of this year’s color, Benjamin Moore tapped electro-funk duo Chromeo to record a track called, fittingly, “Raspberry Blush.”

Opting for something a bit more subdued, Sherwin-Williams' global color forecast team chose “Redend Point SW 9081” as its 2023 Color for the Year. The warm blush-beige was described by Sue Wadden, Sherwin-Williams’s director of color marketing, as “not too light or too dark, not too moody or too sweet.” Wadden noted that warmth and empathy were two central themes for Sherwin-Williams in the coming year, and described Redend Point SW 9081 as a “perfect representation” of those two concepts. “This soulful hue features subtle pink undertones that exude feelings of warmth and exploration, and the color also leans into the macro trends we’ve been seeing around empathy and care culture,” Wadden added. “While self-care is critical, it’s equally important for us to look out for each other and our communities. This sentiment will carry us through 2023 and beyond.”