Pantone has officially announced their 2017 color of the Year: Greenery (PANTONE 15-0343). Greenery, a zesty yellow-green shade, invokes feelings of revitalization and growth. But why is this shade so pertinent to our current state?

The Pantone Color of the Year is meant to be a symbol of what we see taking place in our global culture. The color serves as an expression of a mood and an attitude.

“Greenery bursts forth in 2017 to provide us with the hope we collectively yearn for amid a complex social and political landscape,” explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone’s color consulting arm. “Greenery symbolizes the reconnection we seek with nature, one another and a larger purpose.”

Traditionally, green has had several meanings, mostly positive. It is the color of nature, symbolizing freshness and fertility. Green has a strong calming effect and an emotional correspondence with safety. Green is also the most restful color for the human eye, being known to help improve vision. Green means GO!

At the same time, there are also negative connotations associated with the color green. Green can represent greed (the color of money), jealousy, and envy. Green can also symbolize sickness or lack of experience. Aliens and Martians are green, slime is green, the Grinch is green! Green can easily make us feel that something is unusual, unpleasant or scary.

Our world has recently experienced its fair share of unrest: Racial and political injustices, violence, war, poverty, and natural disasters. We are living in a polarizing climate and the recent American presidential election has displayed that. People are excited for change and new beginnings but people are also angry and frightened about what the future will look like and are seeking peace, equality, and protection.

It is not by chance that Greenery pulls from these dichotomies and displays it in one unifying tone.

Greenery plants a seed of hope for a better tomorrow and asks us all to help it grow.