A color tools provider is expanding its digital color platform to integrate live collaboration options and flexibility for the new hybrid workplace.
Pantone, a provider of professional color tools for designers that’s a subsidiary of Kentwood-based X-Rite, on Wednesday, Nov. 10, unveiled the latest version of Pantone Connect, a digital platform for designers that streamlines color decision-making and communication.
The platform, which provides access to all 15,000 Pantone colors available in the cloud, has added features that will let designers across the world create digital mood boards, palettes and enable live collaboration within teams, clients and partners throughout the design workflow globally.
The Pantone Connect platform, first launched in April 2020 and then in June 2020 with the Pantone Color Match Card, is adapting to a new creative and working environment that has merged physical and digital like never before due to the pandemic.
Pantone worked with designers across industries to understand the nuances of the designers’ new workflows, updating the product to best match their needs. As a result, Pantone streamlined the platform to be an all-in-one digital tool where designers can easily integrate color through the entire design process, from start to finish.
The platform is available in the Adobe Extension Marketplace for use in Adobe Creative Cloud software, on the App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android) for users’ smartphones, as well as in web browsers.
“Pantone’s process for product design is very personal. We like to get in the trenches with the design community to understand how our tools can better help their process from inspiration to creation,” said Jung Sin, global director, digital product management at Pantone. “With this newest iteration of Pantone Connect, we believe we created a unique tool that has evolved to how designers naturally work, and we are excited to continue adapting and updating our tools to accommodate that.”
Pantone Connect’s new features
- Mood board function — allows users to upload digital photos of inspiration on the platform and automatically match them back to the nearest Pantone color equivalent
- Palette creation — allows designers to create and store palettes securely and allows users to see how palettes will be perceived by people with color blindness and how palettes will look against light and dark backgrounds for contrast
- Collaboration tools — allows designers to share palette information with people across the design workflow and work together with teams, clients, printers and brands to reach a shared vision and a definitive color consensus
To help lead a diversified product strategy moving forward, Pantone tapped digital design veteran Elley Cheng to serve as the new general manager of Pantone. Cheng joins Pantone with over 20 years of experience in strategy, operations and finance at technology and digital media companies, including Shutterstock, where she was responsible for the company’s e-commerce channel, as well as Adobe, where she served in corporate development roles and strategic partnerships for almost a decade.
“Now more than ever, we rely on digital communication to get inspiration and collaborate with one another. In order to better serve our customers and fans, our focus is set on expanding our portfolio of digital services to better support designers on their day-to-day journey, from getting inspiration from social media to ensuring accurate physical reproduction of their work,” Cheng said. “Pantone Connect is the newest product that exemplifies this focus, and I am extremely excited to work with the team to build toward a more digital future.”
To introduce the product, Pantone Connect will hold a virtual event on Tuesday, Nov. 16, that will feature designers across industries to discuss color in the design process. Registration for the event is available here.
