The Human Radiance of Good Design
AI will be part of our minds but never our hearts, writes Mariam Hussain.
☰
Don’t Colour Me Mocha
In a world that is constantly trying to quash individuality and clamp down on uncomfortable thoughts, is Pantone’s Colour of the Year yet another attempt to do the same thing? After 2024, a year that brought uncertainty through natural and manmade disasters; the war on Gaza and the LA wildfires (another climate warning) that rage on as I type, I wonder: Is Mocha Mousse (Pantone 17-1230) a colour to celebrate or to mourn?
We should be outraged. Livid. We are being led into a curated world of blandness, and we are doing it with our eyes wide open. Our sense of individuality is being eroded by brands that peddle collective emotions in an attempt to buy our loyalty. What else could explain the frantic rush to buy a new wardrobe that fits in with the season’s trending colour? Years of mass consumerism and social media prominence have led to a culture of commercialism and a desperate need to own the gadget, fashion accessory or technological tool that an influencer has highlighted as essential to our well-being and design worthiness. These wildly popular items promise to transform our otherwise purposeless, devoid-of-aesthetic existence into one that is Insta-worthy and straight out of a Pinterest board.
When did this brainwashing begin? Was it Apple, with its ability to create meaning in collective experiences, that first made us desperate to join a community of shared choices, thereby giving us a sense of belonging? Was it the emergence of influencers, buoyed by sponsors, that hyped up the urge to spend to make us feel complete? Or have we always been tied to collective trends that seem to define entire cultural eras and create a sense of unity?
Launched in 1999, the Pantone Colour of the Year was conceived as a way of beginning a conversation within the design industry and among colour enthusiasts. The first colour was Cerulean Blue, chosen to represent the new Millennium’s calm optimism. Over subsequent years, more colours were chosen in keeping with the world’s economic changes, cultural shifts and societal moods. Mimosa in 2009 was picked in the midst of the financial crisis to inspire hope and echo the warmth of the sun. In 2017, after a year of political upheaval (US elections/Brexit), Greenery represented a yearning for rejuvenation, environmental awareness and hope for change.
Mocha Mousse is an evocative soft brown that “nurtures with the suggestion of the earthy richness of cacao, chocolate and coffee,” as explained by Laurie Pressman, VP, Pantone Colour Institute.
In a promotional video, Pressman explains why this colour represents harmony. Wearing a Mocha Mousse outfit against a beige backdrop, she tells us that, “From sweet treats to nature walks, we are creating these special moments whose promise of a fleeting escape brings us joy.”
It should all sound perfectly delectable and, by all accounts, ignite a glow of warmth inside me. The idea of peaceful harmony and thoughtful indulgence should bring me comfort. Yet, it leaves me feeling quite the opposite. This mass adoption of a single idea is unsettling and uncomfortable. Although the act of making similar choices encourages social cohesion and a sense of belonging, it also obliterates any idea that contrasts with the collective idea. Homogeneous trends encourage conformity. As trends gain popularity, they discourage uniqueness. The desire to be fashionable and ‘on trend’ leads to a uniform aesthetic environment and a sad loss of diversity.
We are by now fairly used to the dreaded algorithm and its devious ways. When a trend takes off, social media platforms push out more and more content to support that trend. We consume hours of interior inspiration and curated consumerism fed to us by vloggers – all of us victims of the trending hashtags. As we fall into a cycle of repetitive content, our online lives start existing in echo chambers where trend-aligned ideas thrive and innovation and creativity are suppressed – all the while convincing us that we need to be part of the collective visual movement.
If Mocha Mousse is the colour that is touted as the colour that will transform our visual landscape and finally help us to create a digital presence that looks like the one influencers follow, then that is what we desperately seek.
When I was in school, I read Yargo, a book by Jacqueline Susann, about a super-intelligent, technologically advanced race that reached a state of utopia on their home planet. They shared a collective identity with the same physical appearance, the same personal expression and the same lack of empathy. Although they were light years ahead of Earth, they were devoid of emotion, and any desire to challenge the status quo was completely absent. I remember being quite enamoured by this concept of intellectual superiority and state of perfection, but it quickly turned into a lifelong inner debate where the joy of collective experiences battled with the drive for diversity and individuality. The uniformity of Yargo reflected a society that seemingly transcended conflict and inefficiency but at the cost of emotional richness and diversity.
My issue with Pantone’s Colour of the Year is the same one I have with any establishment attempting to lean on a group of people who are fighting for their right to be non-conformists. By targeting creative practitioners and the design industry, these seemingly harmless trends encourage an environment of mediocrity. The warm blur of a well-packaged idea lulls us into making easier decisions. By being complacent and less likely to think for ourselves, we take the road more travelled and arrive at the same destination as everyone else. In an interview with Smithsonian Magazine, researcher Adam Grant discussed how non-conformists (whom he refers to as ‘originals’), are more likely to drive innovation. They may not be risk takers but they are more likely to champion new ideas and challenge the status quo.
Imagine, if you will, Luis Barragán’s brilliant use of colour in his architecture, bowing down to a trending colour. His stunning colour combinations – the golden yellow paired with a pastel petal pink sacrificed for a beige – because it was the visual dictionary of that time. Despite all the talk about design thinking in the last decade – a methodology that emphasises ideation, experimentation and benefits from non-conformist perspectives – we seem to have not learnt much from it. The desire to meld in, the need to belong, the quest for tenuous connections is killing our spark.
Mocha Mousse seems an ill-advised and superficial attempt at nurturing warmth and well-being when there is none.
The clichéd sentences spoken by Elly Cheng, President of Pantone, seemed to have been dreamt up by ChatGPT, devoid as they were of substance. This colour, she said, is the “visual response to the challenges, hopes and aspirations that we all share.”
This then is our cue. The challenges, hopes and aspirations that we all share. But do we? Isn’t it high time we fight against the cookie-cutter template that is designed by the West? Most trends tend to be based on the Western world, but do they accurately represent us? Should we as ‘brown’ people celebrate the recognition of a colour that we visually identify with? Is it a symbol of ourselves, or is it a statement of denial? A denial of the challenges, hardship, death and destruction faced by the brown. Just like Peach Fuzz in 2024 seemed tone-deaf given rampant racism and white supremacy, Mocha Mousse is a very bland characterisation of a world that is anything but.
Mariam Hussain is Creative Strategist and Design Director, 240 Inc., London.
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Related Stories
In a promotional video, Pressman explains why this colour represents harmony. Wearing a Mocha Mousse outfit against a beige backdrop, she tells us that, “From sweet treats to nature walks, we are creating these special moments whose promise of a fleeting escape brings us joy.”
It should all sound perfectly delectable and, by all accounts, ignite a glow of warmth inside me. The idea of peaceful harmony and thoughtful indulgence should bring me comfort. Yet, it leaves me feeling quite the opposite. This mass adoption of a single idea is unsettling and uncomfortable. Although the act of making similar choices encourages social cohesion and a sense of belonging, it also obliterates any idea that contrasts with the collective idea. Homogeneous trends encourage conformity. As trends gain popularity, they discourage uniqueness. The desire to be fashionable and ‘on trend’ leads to a uniform aesthetic environment and a sad loss of diversity.
We are by now fairly used to the dreaded algorithm and its devious ways. When a trend takes off, social media platforms push out more and more content to support that trend. We consume hours of interior inspiration and curated consumerism fed to us by vloggers – all of us victims of the trending hashtags. As we fall into a cycle of repetitive content, our online lives start existing in echo chambers where trend-aligned ideas thrive and innovation and creativity are suppressed – all the while convincing us that we need to be part of the collective visual movement.
If Mocha Mousse is the colour that is touted as the colour that will transform our visual landscape and finally help us to create a digital presence that looks like the one influencers follow, then that is what we desperately seek.
When I was in school, I read Yargo, a book by Jacqueline Susann, about a super-intelligent, technologically advanced race that reached a state of utopia on their home planet. They shared a collective identity with the same physical appearance, the same personal expression and the same lack of empathy. Although they were light years ahead of Earth, they were devoid of emotion, and any desire to challenge the status quo was completely absent. I remember being quite enamoured by this concept of intellectual superiority and state of perfection, but it quickly turned into a lifelong inner debate where the joy of collective experiences battled with the drive for diversity and individuality. The uniformity of Yargo reflected a society that seemingly transcended conflict and inefficiency but at the cost of emotional richness and diversity.
My issue with Pantone’s Colour of the Year is the same one I have with any establishment attempting to lean on a group of people who are fighting for their right to be non-conformists. By targeting creative practitioners and the design industry, these seemingly harmless trends encourage an environment of mediocrity. The warm blur of a well-packaged idea lulls us into making easier decisions. By being complacent and less likely to think for ourselves, we take the road more travelled and arrive at the same destination as everyone else. In an interview with Smithsonian Magazine, researcher Adam Grant discussed how non-conformists (whom he refers to as ‘originals’), are more likely to drive innovation. They may not be risk takers but they are more likely to champion new ideas and challenge the status quo.
Imagine, if you will, Luis Barragán’s brilliant use of colour in his architecture, bowing down to a trending colour. His stunning colour combinations – the golden yellow paired with a pastel petal pink sacrificed for a beige – because it was the visual dictionary of that time. Despite all the talk about design thinking in the last decade – a methodology that emphasises ideation, experimentation and benefits from non-conformist perspectives – we seem to have not learnt much from it. The desire to meld in, the need to belong, the quest for tenuous connections is killing our spark.
Mocha Mousse seems an ill-advised and superficial attempt at nurturing warmth and well-being when there is none.
The clichéd sentences spoken by Elly Cheng, President of Pantone, seemed to have been dreamt up by ChatGPT, devoid as they were of substance. This colour, she said, is the “visual response to the challenges, hopes and aspirations that we all share.”
This then is our cue. The challenges, hopes and aspirations that we all share. But do we? Isn’t it high time we fight against the cookie-cutter template that is designed by the West? Most trends tend to be based on the Western world, but do they accurately represent us? Should we as ‘brown’ people celebrate the recognition of a colour that we visually identify with? Is it a symbol of ourselves, or is it a statement of denial? A denial of the challenges, hardship, death and destruction faced by the brown. Just like Peach Fuzz in 2024 seemed tone-deaf given rampant racism and white supremacy, Mocha Mousse is a very bland characterisation of a world that is anything but.
Mariam Hussain is Creative Strategist and Design Director, 240 Inc., London.
Read Comments
Related Stories
When I was in school, I read Yargo, a book by Jacqueline Susann, about a super-intelligent, technologically advanced race that reached a state of utopia on their home planet. They shared a collective identity with the same physical appearance, the same personal expression and the same lack of empathy. Although they were light years ahead of Earth, they were devoid of emotion, and any desire to challenge the status quo was completely absent. I remember being quite enamoured by this concept of intellectual superiority and state of perfection, but it quickly turned into a lifelong inner debate where the joy of collective experiences battled with the drive for diversity and individuality. The uniformity of Yargo reflected a society that seemingly transcended conflict and inefficiency but at the cost of emotional richness and diversity.
My issue with Pantone’s Colour of the Year is the same one I have with any establishment attempting to lean on a group of people who are fighting for their right to be non-conformists. By targeting creative practitioners and the design industry, these seemingly harmless trends encourage an environment of mediocrity. The warm blur of a well-packaged idea lulls us into making easier decisions. By being complacent and less likely to think for ourselves, we take the road more travelled and arrive at the same destination as everyone else. In an interview with Smithsonian Magazine, researcher Adam Grant discussed how non-conformists (whom he refers to as ‘originals’), are more likely to drive innovation. They may not be risk takers but they are more likely to champion new ideas and challenge the status quo.
Imagine, if you will, Luis Barragán’s brilliant use of colour in his architecture, bowing down to a trending colour. His stunning colour combinations – the golden yellow paired with a pastel petal pink sacrificed for a beige – because it was the visual dictionary of that time. Despite all the talk about design thinking in the last decade – a methodology that emphasises ideation, experimentation and benefits from non-conformist perspectives – we seem to have not learnt much from it. The desire to meld in, the need to belong, the quest for tenuous connections is killing our spark.
Mocha Mousse seems an ill-advised and superficial attempt at nurturing warmth and well-being when there is none.
The clichéd sentences spoken by Elly Cheng, President of Pantone, seemed to have been dreamt up by ChatGPT, devoid as they were of substance. This colour, she said, is the “visual response to the challenges, hopes and aspirations that we all share.”
This then is our cue. The challenges, hopes and aspirations that we all share. But do we? Isn’t it high time we fight against the cookie-cutter template that is designed by the West? Most trends tend to be based on the Western world, but do they accurately represent us? Should we as ‘brown’ people celebrate the recognition of a colour that we visually identify with? Is it a symbol of ourselves, or is it a statement of denial? A denial of the challenges, hardship, death and destruction faced by the brown. Just like Peach Fuzz in 2024 seemed tone-deaf given rampant racism and white supremacy, Mocha Mousse is a very bland characterisation of a world that is anything but.
Mariam Hussain is Creative Strategist and Design Director, 240 Inc., London.
Read Comments
Related Stories
The clichéd sentences spoken by Elly Cheng, President of Pantone, seemed to have been dreamt up by ChatGPT, devoid as they were of substance. This colour, she said, is the “visual response to the challenges, hopes and aspirations that we all share.”
This then is our cue. The challenges, hopes and aspirations that we all share. But do we? Isn’t it high time we fight against the cookie-cutter template that is designed by the West? Most trends tend to be based on the Western world, but do they accurately represent us? Should we as ‘brown’ people celebrate the recognition of a colour that we visually identify with? Is it a symbol of ourselves, or is it a statement of denial? A denial of the challenges, hardship, death and destruction faced by the brown. Just like Peach Fuzz in 2024 seemed tone-deaf given rampant racism and white supremacy, Mocha Mousse is a very bland characterisation of a world that is anything but.
Mariam Hussain is Creative Strategist and Design Director, 240 Inc., London.