United Colors of the Apocalypse

A new Pantone series for 2023

by David Bieloh

September 1, 2023

5:00 AM

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I created the United Colors of the Apocalypse in 2020 during the pandemic, and what was perhaps the smokiest September I had ever experienced here in the Pacific Northwest. What started out as a simple idea that built off the Pantone Color of the Year series, and was inspired by the constant inundation of smoke from wildfires burning from British Columbia to California, rapidly evolved into a collection of 130 smoky-sky swatches, all with a touch of dark (and apocalyptic) humor. The project quickly became collaborative as friends, family, neighbors, colleagues, and even complete strangers who were suffering from the effects of the smoke from wildfires sent me images of their smoky views from across the country. It was a project that united people in our common suffering, and that helped us to find beauty and a bit of humor in the chaos. I felt inspired to restart the project in August of 2023 as we once again were confronted with constant smoke, and daily hazardous air quality alerts.

The complete series can be seen on Instagram.

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