December 1, 1997

from Pantone, Inc.

December's Color Combination: PANTONE® 1998-46 C and PANTONE 1998-22 C from PANTONE ColorTrends™ 1998.

For a modern twist on the traditional holiday colors of red and green, try using Antique Moss and Cardinal. This combination offers a more sophisticated, fashion-forward look.

Note: RGB values are given here as percentages based on a scale of 100. PC users will want to convert those values to percentages of a scale of 255.

Antique Moss

Color

PANTONE 1998-46 C

Ink Formula:

PANTONE Yellow	70.6
PANTONE Black	4.4
PANTONE Trans. Wt.	25.0

CMYK equivalents: Cyan: 0, Magenta: 0, Yellow: 100, Black: 30.5

RGB (percentages based on a scale of 100): R:58, G:52, B:0

HTML: 968500

Cardinal

Color:

PANTONE 1998-22 C

Ink Formula:

PANTONE Warm Red	27.0
PANTONE Rubine Red	16.6
PANTONE Black	5.5
PANTONE Trans. Wt.	50.9

CMYK equivalents: Cyan: 0, Magenta: 80, Yellow: 40, Black: 25

RGB (percentages based on a scale of 100): R: 65, G: 18, B: 31

HTML: A72F51

Facts Relating to Green and Red

In the 17th century, clever ladies of the French court carried limes with them. When they bit into the fruit regularly, their lips would redden.

Transportation experts are voicing louder opinions concerning the safety of red fire engines, claiming that bright yellow-greens (for example, lime yellow) are much more visible, especially at twilight, when red turns into muddy brown.

Operators who work primarily on green computer screens have reported that at the end of a working day, they see "pink" for a long period of time. When prescribed lenses that are tinted lavender, the opposite wavelength to green, operators reported that the "pink fog" was no longer a problem.

In 1914, a surgeon at St. Luke's Hospital in San Francisco decided that he could no longer tolerate the glare of the snow-white walls, sheets, drapes, and uniforms found in operating rooms. To reduce eyestrain, he replaced that sterile white with lettuce-leaf green, because he knew it to be a complementary color to the red of blood and tissue. Eventually, thousands of surgical suites and surgical garb were changed to lettuce-leaf or spinach green -- and more recently, to soft blue-greens.

Our perception of time, weight, and length can be affected by color. Time is perceived as moving more quickly in a green room. An object's length is judged to be shorter and its weight seems heavier when viewed under a green light.

Red, sitting at the top of the rainbow, has the longest wavelength and the slowest vibration in the visible-light spectrum.

"I tried to express, through green and red, the terrible passions of humanity," said Vincent Van Gogh of his piece entitled "Night Cafe." Van Gogh's paintings demonstrate, among other things, the emotional intensity that accompanies color.

When red is featured in a dream, the tint or shade carries different meanings. A light tint of red suggests the glory of success. Hot reds signify the stress of family quarrels. Crimson hues foretell of happy news from a friend. Red hair on a beautiful woman suggests that you will receive unexpected good news.

The bullfight dates back more than 2,000 years to Roman times. The matador wields a red cape, the muletta, with which he or she taunts the bull. Actually, the cape's color heightens the drama more for the audience, since the bull is color blind.

The red color of the barns that dot the New England landscape serves more of a practical purpose than an aesthetic one. Red barns are warmer in the winter, because the color red absorbs more of the sun's rays than many other colors. The "little red schoolhouses" of early North America were likely painted red for similar reasons.

In the Alps, as well as in other Arctic and alpine regions, minute algae called Protococcus nivalis can turn snow red. The algae make the snow look like it is sprinkled with red gemstones. As beautiful as this sight may be, however, some people regard red snow as an omen of evil.

While doing close work, engravers of ancient times intermittently gazed at a green beryl gemstone kept close at hand. This was a precursor to the green eye shades worn later by office clerks and the green computer screens of today.

In the 19th century, Paris Green became a fashionable emerald shade, used extensively for decorating. When it was discovered that these deadly, arsenic-based pigments used in wall coverings caused many mysterious deaths, the color was aptly renamed "Poison Green!"

The lens of the eye has to make a special adjustment to focus on the red wavelength and see the color red. This focal adjustment makes red appear to advance, or zoom in.

In the early 20th century, Frenchmen particularly favored a vivid green drink called absinthe. It became so popular throughout the country that the evening happy hour became known as "l'heure vert" (the green hour). Apparently, the population enjoyed it a little too much; in 1907, absinthe was banned as a "dangerous intoxicant."

 

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