Pantone Color Institute The color institute Pantone unveiled its annual Color of the Year this week. For 2021, there are two colors: illuminating, a bright yellow; and ultimate gray, a medium gray shade. The colors are intended to convey "a message of strength and hopefulness," Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, said in a statement about the colors. But Pantone's Color of the Year serves another purpose: setting the tone for the consumer products industry and kick-starting a trickle-down effect that can last for years. In 2000, for example, the inaugural Color of the Year was cerulean. That led to a famous scene in the 2006 film "The Devil Wears Prada" about how cerulean became popular in high fashion before trickling down to more affordable consumer products.