Gen Z has a color scheme

Gen Z has a color scheme

The Future. Gen Z seems to really be into bold, bright colors that capture a nostalgia for a pre-modern tech past and an ironic hope for the future. Why does it matter? The pops of color overtook social media and are starting to be created for every Gen-Z-facing product on the market… reinforcing the cycle of Gen-Z attachment. If you want to know what’s about to trend in culture, knowing your colors may be a good starting point.

Color force
Every generation has a generalized color scheme (pastels of the 50s, neons of the 80s), reports FastCompany… and Gen Z is breaking out the crayon box to make their mark on this decade.

• Laurie Pressman, VP of the Pantone Color Institute, says that Gen Z likes primary colors that reflect a sunnier outlook on life — though we think that’s meant ironically.
• Instead, those pops of color could be a subconscious nostalgia for a simpler time — one that they may have never lived.
• They are also influenced by a sort of “techno-nostalgia” that ironically co-opts a stereotypical look of the 90s — a time before social media.
• When it comes to darker hues, Caroline Guilbert, head of creative content at Coloro, says that they “elicit the vibrancy and vastness of the cosmos,” leaning into their curiosity about astrology and mysticism.

Meta hues
But most importantly, the most popular colors somehow travel between the physical and digital worlds, mirroring how Gen Zers’ lives are split the same way. That’s why Pantone’s Color of the Year is “Viva Magenta,” aka “Magentaverse.”

And for you color forecasters out there, “Cyber Lime” is expected to be huge next year.