好英语网2020年度色彩：抚平焦虑的经典蓝
The people at Pantone know that times are hard.
潘通的人知道，如今日子并不好过。
“Many of us,” the color company said in a recent presentation, feel anxious, “completely overloaded and perpetually stressed.” The antidote, according to Pantone’s swatch psychologists? Blue. Specifically: Classic Blue.
“我们中的许多人，”这家权威色彩公司在最近一次展示中提及焦虑情绪，“完全超负荷，总是有压力。”那么潘通色卡的心理学家们认为解决办法是什么？是蓝色。具体来说：经典蓝色。
是蓝色。
For the 21st consecutive year, Pantone has named a color of the year, a trend-forecasting stunt as closely watched by the news media as it is by the industries — marketing, fashion, design — that actually traffic in visual trends.
潘通已经连续第21年宣布年度色彩，这个潮流预测的噱头受到了新闻媒体和营销、时尚、设计等视觉潮流行业的密切关注。
The blue of 2020 is not Cerulean (the company’s first pick, back in 2000), Aqua Sky (2003), Blue Turquoise (2005), Blue Iris (2008) nor Serenity (which shared the 2016 title with Rose Quartz). It’s Classic Blue, a darker, more familiar shade than its cyanic siblings.
作为2020年度色彩的蓝并非蔚蓝（该公司在2000年的首次选择）、水色天空（2003年）、蓝色绿松石（2005年）、蓝色鸢尾花（2008年），也不是宁静蓝（在2016年和蔷薇石英粉一起当选）。它就是经典蓝，比它的蓝色系同胞们更深、也更为人们所熟悉。
Classic Blue is the color of blueberries, a Pepsi can and the sky when it’s “that beautiful color at the end of the day,” said Leatrice Eiseman, the executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, which researches and advises companies on human responses to color. In choosing Classic Blue, the organization said it first examined what was going on in the world.
经典蓝是蓝莓、百事可乐易拉罐和天空“在一天结束时的美丽颜色”，潘通色彩研究所(Pantone color Institute)的执行董事莱亚特丽斯·艾斯曼(Leatrice Eiseman)说，该机构研究并为企业提供有关人类对颜色反应的建议。在选择经典蓝时，该机构表示他们先研究了世界上正在发生的事情。
“We’re living in this time now where things seem to be, around the world, a little bit, I don’t want to use the word unstable, but let’s just say a little shaky,” said Laurie Pressman, the vice president of the Pantone Color Institute. “Nothing is absolutely certain from one moment to the next.”
“我们生活的这个时代，世界各地的情况似乎有一点……我不想用‘动荡’来形容，但还是可以说有一点不稳定，”潘通色彩研究所副所长劳里·普莱斯曼(Laurie Pressman)说。“从这一刻到下一刻，没什么事情是绝对确定的。”
Pantone wouldn’t get too specific about why people feel “shaky.” Political unrest seemed an obvious source of the tremors, but, Ms. Pressman said, “we weren’t looking at this as a political message.” The decision wasn’t about impeachment or the election or Brexit. It also wasn’t a sly endorsement of the blue Democratic Party.
潘通没有太过具体地解释为什么人们会觉得“不稳定”。政治上的动荡或许是这些震动的明显原因，但普莱斯曼表示，“我们并不认为这是一则政治信息。”潘通的决定与弹劾案、大选或英国脱欧都无关，也不是对蓝色民主党的暗暗支持。
Rather, Pantone has pinned the world’s anxiety and stress on a more common enemy: technology.
相反，潘通把全世界的焦虑和压力归咎于一个更普遍的敌人：科技。
“It has sped things up to the point where we can’t necessarily handle all that’s coming in,” Ms. Eiseman said.
“它加速了事态的变化，我们简直已经无法承受所有涌进来的东西，”艾斯曼说。
Classic Blue “provides a refuge,” according to Pantone, fulfilling a “desire for a dependable, stable foundation.” Classic Blue is “nonaggressive,” “easily relatable” and “honest.”
经典蓝色“提供了一个庇护所”，潘通表示，它可以满足人们对“可靠、稳定基础的渴望”。经典蓝代表着“没有攻击性”、“容易引发共鸣”，和“诚实”。
One thing Classic Blue is not: sad. Despite centuries of artists and writers using blue to represent melancholy, young people don’t associate blue with sadness anymore, Ms. Eiseman said. “I think that’s kind of an older generation reaction.”
经典蓝并不代表着悲伤。艾斯曼说，尽管几个世纪以来，艺术家和作家都用蓝色代表忧郁，但如今年轻人不会再把蓝色与悲伤联系起来。“我想那是老一辈人的想法了。”
For the first time, Pantone’s announcement comes with multi-sensory bonuses. The company is releasing music inspired by Classic Blue — an electro-pop track called “Vivid Nostalgia” — as well as a berry tea and velvety fabric. (The music is free; the tea will be available for purchase; custom furniture made with the fabric can be ordered.) Influencers and some journalists were also sent candles and jam.
这是潘通第一次在通告中附带多感官彩蛋。他们还准备发布以经典蓝为灵感的音乐——一首名叫《生动怀旧》(Vivid Nostalgia)的电子流行歌曲——同时还有一款浆果茶和柔软面料。（这首歌是免费的；浆果茶可供购买；使用该面料制作的定制家具可以预订。）一些网红和记者也收到了蜡烛和果酱。
It’s an escalation in Pantone’s annual publicity push, an already formidable effort. Every December, the announcement is widely covered by national outlets and trade publications (along with any backlash).
潘通一年一度的宣传造势本已很强大，如今更是升了级。每年12月，他们的通告都会引来全国媒体和商业出版物广为报道（其中也包括反对的声音）。
The attention has helped make Pantone one of the most influential organizations in color forecasting — an occupation dating back to the early 20th century — said Regina Lee Blaszczyk, a history professor at the University of Leeds and author of “The Color Revolution.”
利兹大学(University of Leeds)历史学教授、《色彩革命》(The Color Revolution)一书的作者雷吉娜·李·布拉什奇克(Regina Lee Blaszczyk)表示，外界的关注帮助潘通成为色彩预测领域——这一职业可追溯到20世纪初——最具影响力的机构之一。
“The color of the year is really a marketing effort on the part of Pantone to get media attention,” she said. “What Pantone has brilliantly done is figure out how to capitalize on celebrity culture. Essentially, the color of the year is designating a color as a celebrity.”
“年度色彩其实是潘通吸引媒体关注的一种营销手段，”她说。“潘通做得很出色的一点，是他们找到了利用名人文化的办法。本质上讲，年度色彩就是让一种颜色成为名人。”
Pantone wants to stir up excitement about its own brand, and deadline-pressured journalists happily comply, Ms. Blaszczyk said. “You need something that you can write about that’s somewhat exciting. And a celebrity is very exciting.”
布拉什奇克说，潘通希望激起人们对潘通品牌的兴奋之情，有截稿日压力的记者们则欣然配合。“他们需要可以写的、有点令人兴奋的东西。名人可是非常令人兴奋的。”
Still, Pantone’s predictions have credibility in their accuracy.
尽管如此，潘通预测的准确度仍具有信誉。
The luxury e-commerce platform Moda Operandi analyzes and periodically publishes data on customer behavior. (This data is based on purchases made during its trunk shows or designer collections sold straight from the runway.)
奢侈品电子商务平台Moda Operandi分析并定期发布消费者行为数据。（这些数据基于其内部展卖会的购买情况，或是直接在T台上销售的设计师系列产品。）
Pantone predicted the Color of 2018 would be Ultra Violet. Between 2017 and 2018, Moda Operandi said it saw a 28 percent increase in orders of purple products. Last year, Pantone chose Living Coral. From 2018 to 2019, Moda Operandi saw a 62 percent increase in pink purchases.
潘通预测2018年的流行色为紫外光色。从2017年到2018年，Moda Operandi称他们的紫色商品订单增长了28%。去年，潘通选择了珊瑚橙作为流行色。而从2018年到2019年，Moda Operandi的粉色商品销售量增长了62%。
Still, Ms. Blaszczyk is unconvinced that people outside visual industries care about Pantone’s annual announcement.
不过，布拉什奇克并不相信视觉行业之外的人会关心潘通的年度通告。
“People who are interested in clothing and fashion do pay attention to it, but I don’t think that the ordinary person on the street pays attention to it,” she said.
“对服装和时尚感兴趣的人会关注，但我认为普通人不会关注它，”她说。
Then again, Ms. Blaszczyk has noticed people in her Weight Watchers Facebook group organize challenges and activities around Pantone colors. For example, she said: “Let’s get dressed up in Pantone Pink this week!”
话虽如此，布拉什奇克还是注意到，在她的慧俪轻体(Weight Watchers)Facebook群组里，有人会根据潘通选出的颜色组织各种挑战和活动。例如，“让我们这周都穿潘通粉吧！”她说。