Wednesday, September 15, 2021
Experts Pick Guacamole as the Paint Color of the Year
Nerdist: Every decade has a color scheme. We think of the ’70s, we tend to think of harvest gold, pumpkin, and avocado. (Thank you, Brady Bunch kitchen). The ’80s were all about pastels and Pac-Man-style neon yellow. And the ’90s sure loved mauve and blue together. Especially on your mom’s tracksuits. So what’s the color scheme for right now? According to the folks at paint company Glidden (via Architectural Digest), the color of the year is….guacamole??
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I really do not think this was a thing. After reading the article about PPG Paint's color pick of the week, I thought that was a one company thing. I really did not think that I would see an article about another company that does a paint color pick of the year. That being said, Glidden's color pick for 2021 is definitely not as nice as PPG Paint's color pick. At the same time, I'm not sure how great the article itself is. It seems kind of weird to suggest that, "Maybe it was all that Mexican food we ordered from Uber Eats and Door Dash during quarantine, but guacamole is the color of choice going into 2022." Also stating that, "maybe we just like colors that make us crave tortilla chips" also seems a little bit of a stretcher. While it seems as though the article is trying to be funny, it didn't quite do it for me.
Like DJ, I did not really know that there was a widely accepted color of the year across companies. While each paint company has different versions of the color it seems like this green color is the color of year for 2022. It makes me wonder if this paint color of the year is at all related to trends in fashion or other industries using colors as well. And if the color experts who decide what the color of year will be are at all related to any other industry that uses color. I also wonder how they decide what the color of the year will be for a year that is still 4 months away. Like DJ said it seems weird that this would be chosen because people ordered Mexican food during the pandemic. There has to be more to it than that. I know this article was more light-hearted and reader friendly but I would love to know about the actual process of how these color experts settled on this color.
This article seriously confuses me. Although I definitely agree that different decades and eras have their distinct aesthetics, I would argue against being able to define a specific color for a certain year, unless that color had some historical significance with a major event that occurred. This article honestly reads more like an advertisement for "avocado green" paint than anything, especially with the quote from the paint company that stands to profit from such a declaration. Perhaps they have an unused stock of avocado paint they need to get rid of quickly. It all seems very mysterious. The evidence they presented in the article seems very bare-bones. I might understand better if they said it was the best selling color of the year, or if market research they had done showed it would sell well soon, or even a color analysis of social media influencers' bedroom pictures. As it stands, I won't be buying avocado paint anytime soon.
I guess PPG Paints and Glidden disagree on what shade of green is the color of the year (personally, I prefer Olive Sprig from PPG Paints). Avocado is a pretty color though. It is definitely a happy, calming shade of green. The first sentence in the second paragraph of the article is,,, kind of gross and off-putting. Aside from that, I appreciated the Glidden rep’s commentary on the color choice. “Earthy” is super in-trend right now, and this color green compliments house plants and earth tones alike. I think it would look beautiful in a geometric-style accent on a cream colored wall. It is actually kind of wild to read that demand for green paint colors has doubled since 2020, though when I see colors like this it is not a surprise. On an unrelated note, the guac they show in the article photo looks so good. I would love some chips and guac right now.
I completely understand how this is the color of the year. Right now in design as a whole there is a throwback trend happening, especially in fashion. There is a reentrance of specific styles of vintage clothing from the 70s, 80s, and 90s that are very obviously the trending. That is also why thrifting has come back in full force. This specific green is an homage to the hippy vibes of the 70s. But beyond that, green as a whole is a generally calming color known for its reference to the natural world provoking a sense of security and calm. This is a great reason why it would be the color of the year, as those are all things we collectively longed for during our quarantine, so it would be understandable how when we were bored of being home and attempting questionable D.I.Ys we gravitated towards this feeling. If you go on fast-fashion websites you would also probably see an abundance of this green in hippy inspired crochet crop tops and wide leg pants, it seems to be everywhere!
Even though I have read the other comments, I think that this article makes sense to me. I feel that most of the confusion may have come from the name “guacamole”. It definitely makes for an interesting name, and it doesn’t immediately ring a bell for many of us, however I feel that this light, milky green color that was chosen is reminiscent of matcha, a trend that I am sure many more of us are familiar with. I think the concept of defining a year through a color is really interesting and reminds us that color is very important in our lives. Color can define the space, change the mood, and even create illusions in space, and this is especially true for the lighting and scenic designers. In this strain of thought, it makes sense that this soothing color green was chosen amidst a pandemic, where everyone needed a calm, soothing color in their lives.
It really says something that 'avocado' is one of the older colors listed that might have been considered for color of the year by the gastrochromatic-industrial complex, but this year the daring and bold new color in the zeitgeist is guacamole. We've clearly come a long way from the bad old days of avocado, eggplant, and orange, and I cannot wait to see the dizzying heights to which we will climb, inspired as we are by our newer, fresher, much more modern and enlightenated color palette, with guacamole in the vanguard, closely flanked by babaganoush and creamsicle. Truly, it is wondrous what we have achieved. I only wish that our ancestors could see us now, could drink in the beautiful hues of the same damn thing they had but crushed and mixed with some lime and onions. I would that Vincent Van Gogh were here, to weep his tears of joy at the revelation of guacamole.
I am so lost. I didn’t know that there was ever a “color of the year”. I’d assume this happens every year? Why have I never heard of this before? I love color theory and trying to figure out what the effects of certain colors have on different people. But I can not figure out why green is the color people apparently want to start painting their houses. How do these paint companies even pick a color of the year? I don’t really think you can take an entire year and put it with one color. I will piggy back off of Sammy above and say that the “earthy” aesthetic has really be trending this year, but I still don’t know if I agree that “guacamole” fits that theme. This may just be my opinion, and several other people might completely disagree with me, but I don’t think I’ll ever be buying “guacamole” colored paint.
When I read the title of this article, I immediately thought of all the avocado food trends that have grown through social media the past few years. It is so interesting how much trends influence our culture and how social media amplifies those effects. Another idea I noticed in this article is how the appreciation of nature and forward-thinking of global warming influenced the “color of the year” being a shade of green. As a college student, I see a direct correlation between my generation and the appreciation for at home plants, that have little maintenance, like succulents. This concept of surrounding oneself in greenery is a trend that I think will only become more adopted as we continue this journey of trying to not take for granted what the earth provides for us. This concept of sustainability can be applied to the theatre industry as more and more companies are going towards a “greener” approach. Although they are not necessarily painting the theaters green, theaters are honoring the earth in their own way.
The fact that toast was not mentioned in this article is very disappointing. I also find it fascinating that these articles about colors also comment about “oh when you think of this decade you think of X”...no when I think of the 70s I think about That 70s Show and the decor. I could not for the life of me tell you any color I saw. I feel like these articles are for a very niche audience: those who like paint. Also I do feel that the color they have displayed is more avocado (which I think has had a bigger impact on people than...Uber Eats and Door Dash...at least positively). Additionally, I don’t see how 30 paint experts can name the color of the year guacamole when the PPG’s color of the year was something different. Overall this just seems like another gimmick that I feel does not hit with the younger generations, and also I feel that it’s kinda interesting that the Nerdist posted this…
I don't know. I'd say I'm a fan of it. Green is good. Green has always been good. I'm not a prolific wearer or user of this particular shade of guacamole green, but it's a nice, soothing color for me, as I'm sure it is for many other people out there. And this is not a terribly confusing article, but maybe I'm just taking it at face value. In the article and in these comments, I keep seeing Glidden this and Glidden that, but Glidden isn't even that big a part of all this, and I don't even know who the heck PPG Paints is. Point is, I think, if I could live in a house with this color juxtaposed with a nice cream or white in the kitchen, my life would be a lot cooler. Not in a classic Pittsburgh house though, no offense. This kind of green in the kitchen really is more befitting of a West Coast new money semi-minimalist kind of house, with house plants and mirrors everywhere. I could deal with that.
We see this kind of article every year and collectively go ‘huh?’. I think ‘Color of the Year’ as a single, voted-upon shade is a silly marketing ploy from various fronts, including paint companies themselves and interior designers (not a terrible one, just kind of silly). But I don’t necessarily think there’s anything wrong with researching interior design trends and pointing out colors and styles that seem to have been growing in popularity or look like they will be in the future. We do that with fashion all the time, and clearly different decades tend to have distinct styles in both fashion and architecture/decor that have been recorded in many different ways. It’s interesting that this one doesn’t seem associated with any of the paint brands (which all do this at this point - there’s articles out there that list ‘all the colors of the year that we know so far) and therefore seems like less of a marketing gimmick and more of general interior design commentary. It’s a nice shade of green that is on-trend, although I’m not sure I needed 30 color experts to come together to tell me that.
Although an interesting choice, I think this color makes a lot of sense. With the pandemic forcing us all into our homes, the green is reminiscent of the outdoors, which all of us, or many of us, are longing for. Also, as the article stated, the 70’s are back. In clothing we’ve been seeing tons of throwbacks. I think also those almost dark pastels are highly favored right now. Everyone wants dusty roses and stormy blues. I think the guacamole green can be seen as a color which is fun and brings a pop, but isn’t going to be bothersome to the eye. As the article stated the “earthy” almost mid century modern, which is more 60s is back, but rather than going for browns and yellows its being mixed with contrasting colors. I think this has an interesting application to theatre, and I wonder if that would be used in a set. I think it could be really interesting.
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