Viva Magenta is the name of Pantone’s colour of the year for 2023. This is a bolder and richer hue than they’ve nominated recently. Personally, I love bold and rich colours, and despite Viva Magenta being too cool to look really great on me, I like this a lot.

However, if you prefer your hues softer, deeper or lighter, I’ll show you some variations on the theme. Guaranteed, there will be a wide range of magenta hues on offer in 2023.

example of Pantone's deep and cool red, Viva Magenta

Tints, tones and shades of Viva Magenta

colour is relative

Anyone I’ve spoken with about colour will recall me saying that. What I mean by this is that it can appear differently depending on what we surround it by. In the example below, Viva Magenta is on the left and looks deeper in comparison to the brighter, more saturated hues.

Below is Viva Magenta next to two hues of the same depth. The terracotta on the left is warmer and the pink on the right is cooler. Notice how Viva Magenta presents differently beside each one. This is the basis of colour analysis and why some colours suit us better than others do.

We can use colour in our clothing to create optical illusions. Interesting uses for this might be to highlight or obscure our proportions or to enable our skin to appear clearer or ruddier.

Interested to know what colours could do things for you? Check these out.