PCA Articles

PPG Global Color Experts Take Research-Oriented Approach to Selecting Annual Color of the Year

• As a leading color expert in the paint industry, PPG leverages the breadth of its global talent and expertise to accurately predict global color trends.
• 35 color experts, representing 11 countries and five business units come together annually for PPG’s Global Color Forecasting Workshop, a color forecasting process unique to PPG.
• For 2023, PPG selected Vining Ivy as its Color of the Year. Vining Ivy is a beautifully robust and refined teal, and is symbolic of a deep body of water—relating to consumers’ needs to take time to reflect on the deepest parts of ourselves.

PPG’s Color of the Year Selection Process

PPG’s color forecasting process is unique, as it leverages PPG’s global expertise to accurately, and authoritatively, predict global color trends.

Each year, 35 of PPG’s global color experts come together from 11 different countries, to share emerging trends from their regions and business unit sectors. These insights are gleaned through attending local design shows and keeping a finger on the pulse of runway trends; textile, wood and metal creations, as well as lifestyle directions, demographic changes, societal and other macroeconomic influences rising to prominence on a regional level.

When these color experts come together for PPG’s annual Global Color Forecasting Workshop, parallels are drawn between popular colors in different regions and business units, which in turn inform the creation of a color palette that is representative of all regions represented at the workshop. The end result is an on-trend color palette that will resonate with everyone—Pros and DIYers alike—due to their usability in a variety of applications.

Another outcome of the Global Color Forecasting Workshop is the prediction of the color that will be the most dominant in the market in the year to come, so that our customers, specifically in the Architectural space, can use that color and create a cohesive space with it. When the global color experts come to consensus on the Color of the Year selection, they are confident that the color they have chosen will appear across all sectors—home décor, furnishings automotive and consumer electronics, to name a few—in the coming year. The Color of the Year is the most usable, on-trend color identified by our color experts from around the world. For this reason, DIY customers and Pro painters alike have come to rely on PPG’s color expertise to inform their color decisions.

2023’s Color of the Year: Vining Ivy

In February of 2022, PPG’s color experts met virtually for the Global Color Forecasting Workshop and aligned on Vining Ivy, a versatile, bluish-greenish tone that is an on-trend addition to contemporary designs or a refined pop of color in traditional spaces, as PPG’s and GLIDDENTM paint by PPG’s 2023 Color of the Year.

As the pandemic shed new light on the importance of serenity and little moments, consumers are craving simplicity in this post-COVID era. Vining Ivy satisfies this craving perfectly, as it is energizing, yet grounding, and it works in literally any space. Because the color is so versatile, there’s no guesswork in designing a space, leaving consumers more time to indulge in the things that matter most to them.

Vining Ivy’s teal is an intersection of bold blue and refined green, creating a captivating hue symbolic of deep water. The jewel-toned color can be used to set a calming mood in spaces, as the blue symbolizes tranquility, while the emerald evokes balance. When paired together, the two undertones create a rich, trendy color that signals society’s readiness to cautiously emerge from the pandemic ready to resume our lives—maybe a little more simply than before.

Our color experts see the adaptable Vining Ivy appearing across exterior and interior commercial and residential spaces, styles and textures in the coming year.

PPG has long partnered with professional painters (pros) to help architects, builders and contractors create spaces for luxury, comfort and impact. For pros who would like to help their “do-it-for-me” clients stay on trend, PPG recommends tinting SPEEDHIDE™ Pro-EV Zero interior latex paint by PPG with Vining Ivy. A durable, zero-VOC* (volatile organic compound) product designed for new and repaint applications where speed is most important, Speedhide Pro-EV Zero paint can be applied in spaces while occupied, allowing pros to make quick work of interior design projects without sacrificing quality. For pros working with customers looking to add a colorful coating to walls in high-traffic areas, PPG recommends PPG ULTRALAST™ Interior Paint + Primer which delivers unprecedented washability perfect for kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms, hallways and more.

For images and more information on PPG’s 2023 color trends, visit Glidden.com.

About the Author

Ashley McCollum is an Associate Marketing Manager and color expert for PPG’s Architectural Coatings business in the U.S. and Canada. Prior to joining PPG in 2017, Ashely’s career was heavily focused on color and visual merchandising for retail environments. Ashley earned her MBA in Marketing/Management from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.