What Pantone Can Teach Us About Branding, Design and Consistency
If you’re not a designer, chances are you’ve never lost sleep over the difference between teal and turquoise and honestly, fair enough. But there’s one brand that took colour way more seriously than the rest of us. In doing so, they didn’t just change design; they transformed how we communicate visually.
Enter: Pantone.
The brand of which I recently fell down a rabbit hole of at 1:00am (as one does) and let me tell you, despite the triple shot coffee I needed the following morning, I don’t regret it.
They don’t just sell ink.
They don’t just sell paint.
They sell the concept of colour.
And somehow, they built a billion-dollar global brand doing exactly that.
If you work in branding, marketing, graphic design, or you’re just fascinated by genius business strategy - this is a story worth knowing.
So... what did Pantone actually sell?
Before Pantone came along in the 1960s, the printing world was a mess. Colour consistency? Basically non-existent. Print shops had their own swatches. You’d point at the one you hoped matched, and cross your fingers.
At the same time, consumer behaviour was shifting. People were starting to buy into brand names as a signal of quality, consistency, and trust. That meant visual identity (especially brand colour) needed to be readable and reliable. That’s where Pantone stepped in.
They saw a gap in the market and filled it with something so smart, it still underpins how we approach brand design today.
The genius of the Pantone system
Pantone didn’t invent colour, nor do they claim to own it. What they invented was a system. A universally understood way to communicate, reproduce and protect it. Each shade was given a number and formula that printers around the world could replicate with precision, regardless of material.
Unlike CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black), which blends tiny dots to imitate colour, Pantone colours are solid, true, and rich. They’re hand-mixed, tested for consistency, and created to hold their tone across paper, packaging, plastic, textiles, signage, you name it.
This changed everything for brand design. Suddenly, brands like Coca-Cola could ensure their iconic red stayed exactly the same in every store, every country, every time.
And just like that, Pantone became the global standard for brand consistency in just five years.
Why Pantone still matters in 2025
You’d think that in the age of Canva, AI tools and the trusty eyedropper tool, Pantone would be irrelevant by now. But no, Pantone is still a staple in professional design and high-end print.
Here’s why:
Pantone colours are more vibrant and accurate than CMYK or RGB
They offer consistency across multiple formats and materials
They're essential in packaging, branding, fashion, interior design, signage and more
They’re still the best solution for cross-disciplinary creative projects
Pantone sells what every brand should strive for: trust and consistency across every customer touchpoint.
Not without controversy
There have, however, been cracks in their audience trust. Pantone made headlines in 2022 when they put their colour library behind a paywall on Adobe. What used to be free now required a subscription, sparking backlash from designers everywhere. Sure, it was an adjustment to the technological age - but did they need to do it?
Not really. Pantone still dominates professional print. This move felt less like innovation and more like monetisation. And for an industry already battling the rise of AI art and design devaluation, it was a low blow.
Despite the friction, Pantone still dominates professional print and branding. The backlash didn’t destroy their reputation, but it did crack the armour a little and reminded creatives that no tool is immune to corporate strategy.
What can branding teams learn from Pantone?
Because this is the kind of brand story we at LOFT obsess over. It’s the perfect case study in:
Building a niche into a household name
Creating a product that feels essential
Turning consistency into a competitive advantage
Designing systems that empower both creatives and clients
Pantone didn’t just sell colour. They sold clarity, consistency, and credibility.
And for any modern brand trying to cut through the noise, those are your most powerful assets.
Pantone reminds us that good design isn’t just aesthetic, it’s strategic. It’s what sets a brand apart, keeps it memorable, and builds trust with the people you’re trying to reach.
Final thoughts
Pantone’s success proves one thing: when you create a system people can rely on, you become more than just a product, you become the standard.
At LOFT, we live for stories like this. Because when you understand the systems behind a great brand, you stop just creating things that look good and start building brands that mean something to your audience.
Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’re off to decide whether to update our swatch books (again).