Pantone wants to normalise menstruation with its latest custom colour Period

Pantone has debuted a custom shade of red known as "Period" to represent menstruation. The new colour is "an energising and dynamic red shade" and is also described as "an active and adventurous red hue" by Laurie Pressman, VP of the Pantone Color Institute. She added that Period emboldens people who menstruate to feel proud of who they are.

The new colour was done in collaboration with Swedish healthcare brand Intimina to break the stigma around menstruation and promote period positivity, Pantone said in a Facebook post. Together, they worked alongside a gynecologist and consulted research published in Medical News Today to develop the shade. However, Pantone said that "by no means is this supposed to be an accurate depiction". "Instead, we created a visual identifier of a red shade that would help Intimina leverage the power of color to share their story," it said.

Period serves as the banner for the latter's Seen+Heard campaign, which is designed to empower and encourage everyone, regardless of gender, to have more accurate and honest conversations around menstruation.

"To own their period with self-assurance; to stand up and passionately celebrate the exciting and powerful life force they are born with; to urge everyone regardless of gender to feel comfortable to talk spontaneously and openly about this pure and natural bodily function," Pressman said.

Meanwhile, Danela Žagar, Intimina's global brand manager, said the new shade of red represents exactly what its Seen+Heard campaign is about - periods visible, encouraging positive conversations and normalising menstruation in our culture, our society and in our everyday lives.

Separately last year, Pantone announced that the Colour of the Year for 2020 is PANTONE 19-4052 Classic Blue. According to the company, the colour instills calm, confidence and connection, and highlights its desire for "a dependable and stable foundation on which to build as consumers cross into a new era".

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