Pantone's color of the year is an ode to Prince and outer space

Purple starry sky. — (Image credit: iStock)

It's a mystical symbol of originality. It's an ode to Prince and Jimi Hendrix. It's Pantone's color of the year.

Pigment authority Pantone has named "Ultra Violet" its 2018 color of the year. The mystical shade is a "complex and contemplative" color that symbolizes discovery and innovation, the company says.

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The Pantone Color Institute names a top shade every year. It isn't supposed to represent current trends in design, but rather inspire the future of it, the company explains.

Maybe Pantone knows something about the space program that we don't?

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.