A bright magenta background with the Pantone and Spoonflower logos.

Six Spoonflower artists were given the chance to create designs in collaboration with the Pantone Color of the Year 2023 announcement. Each artist was given four possible colors, of which one was the 2023 Color of the Year. Read on to learn how Cecilia Mok, Jeanetta Gonzales, Elishka Jepson, Virginia Odien, Brittany Jepsen and Judy Quintero came up with their designs, each artist’s guess at which color will win and their advice for artists also wanting to incorporate 2023’s Color of the Year into their work.

Meet the Selected Artists

How does it feel to be in on the inside of the Pantone Color of the Year 2023 announcement? It hasn’t completely hit me yet. To think that I get to be part of this major world event that lasts a whole year is more than a dream come true. As I was working on my design I couldn’t help but think of 5-year-old me drawing on newspapers with three crayons someone had brought me from the US. Yes, this is a big deal and one I feel a sense of obligation to get right. So much thought goes into planning the Color of the Year that I knew I needed to be thoughtful with my process in order to convey the inspiration and ethos behind that choice. There are no words to describe my gratitude to Pantone and to our Spoonflower family who continuously work behind the scenes to bring life-changing opportunities to their community. 

In what ways did working with the Color of the Year palette challenge you? I tend to recycle my color palettes quite often. I stick to blues, soft pinks and green hues most of the time. I noticed I kept using just one of the colors instead of the four that were given because it’s a hue I’m comfortable with. So I had to keep reminding myself that they were all to be showcased as the main character. We were asked to create four designs but in reality I made a total of 12 designs. Up until the last minute I was still unsure as to which one of the designs to submit because I wanted to make sure each color was given the opportunity to shine and show the world what it can be. 

A beginning sketch of Judy’s final design which features blue birds, clouds, flowers and a sun on a white background.
A beginning sketch of Judy’s final design

What advice do you have for artists looking to use the Pantone Color of the Year 2023 in their work? We tend to be creatures of habit. When we leave our comfort zone, it’s not always fun but through this process we also grow as individuals and learn that we are capable of so much more. Pantone Connect takes the guessing part out of creating a palette based on a specific color. You put in the color code and within seconds you have a palette of harmonious hues that mix and match beautifully with one another. You can also showcase one specific hue by creating a palette of different variations of that one color. I love this option because it’s a sure way to add a sense of depth and simple elegance to your design. But if you’re like me (less adventurous with your color choices) you can always start by adding it as an accent color. 

Which of the four colors do you think it might be and why? I’m leaning towards PANTONE Agate Gray. If we take into account the world’s social and political events for 2022, I can’t help but think this will be the 2023 color. Agate gray crystals are known for their calm and gentle properties. It guides us to seek the truth, to use our common sense and to find our strengths so that we can be empowered. It helps us to feel grounded, balanced and reconnected to the Earth, to love ourselves and in turn love humanity as a whole. By doing this we have created a better, safer world for everyone. 

In this design as shown on a roll of vertically unrolling wallpaper, white birds, trees, tigers, sun, the earth, the planet Saturn and hearts all float through a magenta background.
Judy’s design Wonderful World

About Judy’s Pantone design: The ethos behind 2023’s Color of the Year is a beautiful, empowering and optimistic message to humanity. It is a celebration of the world we know right now and the endless possibilities that exist, which have yet to be discovered. It is a reminder that we have the power within us to do unimaginable things. My design, Wonderful World, highlights the harmony of the world around us and how we are all interconnected beautifully.  

The tree represents how resilient and brave humanity is, even through the strongest winds. The planets are there to remind us of those things that have direct impact in our lives and in our future, like science. They are the essence of who we are and so we must continue our efforts to protect while exploring in order to continue our evolution for a better tomorrow. It is our legacy and what we leave behind. The spinning wheel/sun is my way to pay homage to the textile industry that I love so much, but also to celebrate how far we’ve come with the help of technological advancements. It’s my way of saying look how we started and how far we’ve come. 


Jeanetta Gonzales portrait

Jeanetta Gonzales  

How does it feel to be in on the inside of the Pantone Color of the Year 2023 announcement? It is really exciting and gratifying being in the know. I enjoyed creating art and products that will be part of this big announcement.  

In what ways did working with the Color of the Year palette challenge you? I was challenged using this palette since they are very different than my usual color palette of pinks, yellows, oranges and teals. There were three different, soft colors and one bold, magenta color. Because the magenta was more vibrant than the other colors, I had to find ways to combine all the colors in the palette harmoniously. 

A hand draws geometric shapes with a black pen on a white piece of paper.
Jeanetta at work sketching her design

What advice do you have for artists looking to use the Pantone Color of the Year in their work? When working with specific colors find ways to combine them that work well together. Maybe not all the colors look good together but two or three of them do. Balance the colors in the design and decide what will pop and what will recede.  

Which of the four colors do you think it might be and why? After looking at the palette, I noticed the PANTONE Viva Magenta stands out. It is bolder than the rest. The other colors don’t all work together with that color but Viva Magenta works well with them separately, so I think that’s it. 

Geometric arches, triangles and half moons overlap and fold over one another and cascade in tan and magenta in this design as shown on a roll of vertically unrolling wallpaper.
Jeanetta’s design Breaking Boundaries

About Jeanetta’s Pantone design: I created this pattern based on the themes of “Bravery to break boundaries” and “Science + Tech.” I recently saw the movie “Wakanda Forever” and these themes are found throughout. The rich visuals spoke to me and heavily inspired my pattern and approach to the design. To me, the Pantone colors I designed with evoked both vitality and softness also found in the film. I created a pattern that is structured, graphic, bold and modern, echoing the Science + Tech theme and the incredible strength I found in the characters and imagery in the movie.



How does it feel to be in on the inside of the Pantone Color of the Year 2023 announcement? It was an honor to be considered to create a design featuring Pantone’s Color of the Year. Ever since I’ve worked as a designer, the Color of the Year has been a subject of hot debate among my peers. Getting a sneak peek of the color palette was exciting and it sent my imagination racing. 

In what ways did working with the Color of the Year palette challenge you? Three of the four colors had a similar value, which was a challenge to create contrast between them. My initial concept was an abstract geometric inspired by color theory and the future. As much as I tried, that design just didn’t work with the values of the palette, so I abandoned that direction and went back to the drawing board. I imagined a new concept of a mysterious flourishing garden celebrating the harmonious colors and allowing the strongest color to support the soft palette. I was much happier allowing the colors to step into their own. 

Image of Cecilia’s final design in a slightly different color palette on shown on a pillow. The design has a gray background with white flowers outlined in magenta. White hands are reaching out toward the blooms.
Cecilia’s design Ecology on Gray Lilac featuring the soft colors found in Pantone’s palette, Ignite

What advice do you have for artists looking to use the Pantone Color of the Year in their work? Everyone has their initial impression of a color, whether it’s already part of their favorite palette, it evokes a mood, they imagine it in a color scheme or they feel resistance because they have no idea where to start. I would suggest taking a step back and reconsidering new harmonious and contrasting colors that will bring out a different character from your pre-existing ideas. Try to play with both analogous and complementary colors and consider different proportions of high- and low-value colors to create the mood you want to capture. 

Which of the four colors do you think it might be and why? Viva Magenta grabbed my attention immediately with its dramatic and rich hue. I thought it had to be the Color of the Year as it was so striking while all the other colors seemed to play supporting roles. As I began to design, I took quite a liking to PANTONE Pale Dogwood and it seemed to dance so well in all the colorways, so I thought it would be a strong contender. 

A design as shown on a roll of vertically unrolling wallpaper has a magenta background with light brown flowers. White hands are reaching out toward the blooms that light pink and tan dragonflies fly around.
Cecilia’s design Ecology

About Cecilia’s Pantone design: My design Ecology is an expression of our human connection with each other and with our environment, emphasizing how crucial it is to live together in harmony to survive and flourish. We are not independent—we are interdependent. Humans need each other and need to understand the importance of the careful balance of all life on Earth. Ecology is a design looking towards a hopeful future of community and our precious connection to nature. 


Elishka Jepson portrait

Elishka Jepson 

How does it feel to be in on the inside of the Pantone Color of the Year 2023 announcement? It has been super exciting! It’s such an honor to be asked to participate, and it was a lot of fun creating a design centered around this color palette for the announcement. 

In what ways did working with the Color of the Year palette challenge you? Other than PANTONE Viva Magenta, the other colors in the palette were all similar enough to each other in tone that it was difficult to get good contrast for the design elements. I definitely leveraged the magenta quite a bit to make sure you could easily pick out the details in the pattern. 

Various science symbols depicted in gray and almond, including eyes with radiating lines, DNA helixes, an atom diagram, a radioactive sign and others, appear on a magenta background is shown on a wallpaper render, as if installed on a wall. A white sofa sits to the lefthand side of the image.
Image of Elishka’s final design in a slightly different color palette than the final design. Featured design: Science of Color on Viva Magenta

What advice do you have for artists looking to use the Pantone Color of the Year in their work? Sometimes, choosing colors for a fabric design is the hardest part of the process! It’s nice to have either a single color or palette to focus your design around and really concentrate on the components that make up your pattern! 

Which of the four colors do you think it might be and why? PANTONE Viva Magenta—this color really pops out from the color palette. 

Various science symbols depicted in magenta and brown, including eyes with radiating lines, DNA helixes, an atom diagram, a radioactive sign and others, appear on a light blue background is shown on a wallpaper render, as if installed on a wall.
Elishka’s design Science of Color

About Elishka’s Pantone design: Pantone brings us all these wonderful colors each year—I thought it would be fun to focus a design around the science behind colors and how we view them. I included elements to represent light in its different wavelengths (which translate to different colors); atoms and chemistry (since that influences color); and our eyes (which we use to perceive colors). I even included a dopamine molecule, because beautiful colors make us happy! I went with a clean, minimalist style to really let the color palette shine through the design. 


Virginia Odien portrait

Virginia Odien 

How does it feel to be in on the inside of the Pantone Color of the Year 2023 announcement? Like I’m a secret agent!

In what ways did working with the Color of the Year palette challenge you? Working with a single super bold color with three pale neutrals that had similar values. How to highlight each one so each of the colors given were the star of the show so to speak. Since we didn’t know which of the colors was the Pantone Color of the Year a whole lot of consideration had to be given with a short turnaround time. Whew!  

Two sketches by Virginia are placed together. On the top half, a magenta half circle with a cream sunburst and rays makes up the center; it has a peach triangle with sloped sides underneath it and a brown square behind it. Four horizontal lines in different colors, a peach, gray blue, a light brown and a bright magenta roll underneath the square and extend to the other side. Four vertical lines, one in each aforementioned color, are to the lefthand side of the design. In cursive black handwritten text are the words: “rising sun” to the top left of the cream sunburst; “sun beams” to the right of the rays; “horizon” underneath the half circle, and “mountains” to the left of the triangle’s left hand sloped side. To the right of the four horizontal lines are the words “required colors” also in handwritten black cursive text. On the bottom half, a black cursive handwritten text is the word “Themes” to the top right. To the top left above a peach bird flying upward toward a peach flower in a hot pink square, are the words “upward flight towards goals.” The same bird and flower repeat in hot pink over a brown squares. A peach square and a blue square, also with the same repeating flower and bird are to the bottom right. The words “flower bloom = growth” are to the bottom left. Four horizontal lines are at the bottom, in peach and brown tones.
Process sketches by Virginia

Which of the four colors do you think it might be and why? PANTONE Viva Magenta! Bold, uplifting and so full of life. 

What advice do you have for artists looking to use the Pantone Color of the Year in their work? Try to see each color as the hero and how the other three could support that color. Since we were required to create the same design four times but use each of the colors as the possible hero of the design the subject matter became very important to give each color the limelight. 

Magenta birds with peach lining the front of their wings fly upward, alternating with four-petaled flowers with peach centers in this design as shown on a roll of vertically unrolling wallpaper.
Virginia’s design Avian – Bold Birds

About Virginia’s Pantone design: I wanted to portray 1) the bravery it takes to fully spread one’s wings and fly upwards into new adventures and 2) the sweetness of full-bloom experiences. Be bold—fly and realize your potential!


How does it feel to be in on the inside of the Pantone Color of the Year 2023 announcement? Color plays such an important part of my life and work on The House That Lars Built so anytime I can play a role in encouraging people to use a color in a successful way, I am ALL in! I loved being a part of this big reveal because Pantone is such a legendary voice in predicting trends. I mean, it plays a huge role in my job as a designer every single day! What an honor to be a part of it all! 

In what ways did working with the Color of the Year palette challenge you? The challenge for me was balancing out the vibrancy of PANTONE Viva Magenta with the more soothing neutrals of the whole palette. Viva Magenta certainly takes the stage so you have to balance out well. 

A design with light brown flowers and peach stems and leaves on a white background.
Floret on Gray Lilac, an alternate colorway for Brittany’s final design

What advice do you have for artists looking to use the Pantone Color of the Year in their work? My tip for using a color that is not naturally a part of your color palette is to think of where you find that color in nature. If it’s magenta, think of a sunset… what other colors pair with magenta in a sunset? Bright oranges, deep purples… there you go—you have a palette! 

Which of the four colors do you think it might be and why? Viva Magenta—magenta is striking and a fun way to capture energy and vibrancy! It has so many meanings in various colors. I think of the boisterous markets of India and cultural icons in Mexico like the work of celebrated architect Luis Barragán

A design with light brown flowers and gray stems and leaves on a magenta background in this design as shown on a roll of vertically unrolling wallpaper.
Brittany’s design Floret

About Brittany’s Pantone design: I’m endlessly inspired by flowers and I couldn’t help but go with a bold floral pattern in wide blooms with a dose of whimsical berries for the announcement of 2023’s Color of the Year. It screams beauty and nature, but in a fun way. The more muted colors allow the pattern to become a wonderful canvas to artwork when used as a wallpaper while the bolder color becomes a striking statement—a high drama moment!

Want to Learn About Spoonflower’s Collaboration with Pantone’s Color of the Year 2023?

Discover More

About the Author: