12 Event Design Ideas and Rentals Inspired by Pantone’s Colors of the Year for 2021

Here’s how to incorporate Ultimate Gray and Illuminating into your events in the new year.

December 21, 2020

In September 2018, guests gathered at the Brooklyn Museum for the Yellow Ball, hosted by American Express and its Platinum Card Creative Director Pharrell Williams. The evening was named and inspired by Williams, who explained the theme to attendees: “Yellow is the color of creativity and curiosity. It serves as a representation of the bright light we are shining on the need for arts education and its incredible power to paint a brighter future for us all.”Photo: Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for American ExpressEarlier this month, Pantone announced its Colors of the Year for 2021: Pantone 17-5104, Ultimate Gray, and Pantone 13-0647, Illuminating (a bright and cheerful yellow). The institute said that the pair represents two independent colors that highlight how different elements come together to support one another.

“The union of an enduring Ultimate Gray with the vibrant yellow Illuminating expresses a message of positivity supported by fortitude,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, in a statement. “Practical and rock-solid but at the same time warming and optimistic, this is a color combination that gives us resilience and hope. We need to feel encouraged and uplifted, this is essential to the human spirit."

Pantone also released Facebook and Instagram augmented-reality filters, so folks can easily bring Illuminating and Ultimate Gray into their spaces. Plus, Pantone collaborated with ARTECHOUSE in New York to produce the announcement’s social media reveal, and will debut an AR experience inspired by the colors at the venue in 2021.

From gray seating options to a yellow “red” carpet, here are some inspiring ways to incorporate Pantone’s 2021 Colors of the Year into future events.

Taylor Creative’s Crosby Collection includes modular units upholstered in a gray velvet that can be paired together to create a 15-foot sofa. Available in left-facing, right-facing, and center pieces, the collection is available from the New York location and costs $350 per piece for up to a five-day rental period.

Photo: Courtesy of Taylor Creative

The marigold Regent pillow from CORT Events features a white link pattern. Pricing is available upon request; available nationwide.

Photo: Courtesy of Cort Events

This gray 8-foot-tall partition from Taylor Creative ($1,000 per piece for up to a five-day rental period; available from the New York location) expands up to 24 feet long and is an easy way to section off a large venue.

Photo: Courtesy of Taylor Creative

CORT Events’ channel-stitch modular ottoman system works with the company’s Beverly Bench ottomans to create large, standalone seating configurations. Pricing is available upon request; available nationwide.

Photo: Courtesy of Cort Events

The tufted sofas and matching chairs from Taylor Creative’s Aston Collection feature a plush gray microfiber upholstery with a polished metal frame. The sofa costs $450 and the chair, $250, for up to a five-day rental period; available from the New York location.

Photo: Courtesy of Taylor Creative

Combining both 2021 colors, this pillow from CORT Events features a soft gray and yellow leafy tropical motif. Pricing is available upon request; available nationwide.

Photo: Courtesy of Cort Events

In September 2018, guests gathered at the Brooklyn Museum for the Yellow Ball, hosted by American Express and its Platinum Card Creative Director Pharrell Williams. The evening was named and inspired by Williams, who explained the theme to attendees: “Yellow is the color of creativity and curiosity. It serves as a representation of the bright light we are shining on the need for arts education and its incredible power to paint a brighter future for us all.”

Photo: Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for American Express

Guests arrived on a yellow “red” carpet at the 2018 Yellow Ball.

Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for American Express

In a slightly muted hue of yellow, this ochre upholstered armless chair from Cort Events, available nationwide, is a party-ready version of a mid-century desk chair. Pricing is available upon request.

Photo: Courtesy of Cort Events

Pantone’s 2021 color combination welcomes guests inside the lobby at the Lytle Park Hotel in Cincinnati.

Photo: Courtesy of Lytle Park Hotel

This indoor-outdoor bright-yellow vinyl ottoman cube from CORT Events, available nationwide, easily adds a touch of sunshine. Pricing is available upon request.

Photo: Courtesy of Cort Events