“Shazam” for colors

Pantone’s new Color Match Card is a total game-changer

By Daniel Piper

Pantone, everyone’s favorite color expert, has launched a brand new digital platform as well as a “revolutionary” Color Match Card, which can identify and match colors in real life.

Like some sort of Shazam for colors, or even a real-life eyedropper tool (other Photoshop actions are available), the credit card-sized Pantone Color Match Card can match colors to those in Pantone’s huge color library, and save them to the Pantone Connect app.

All you have to do is place the card (which contains a hole) over the desired color, and take a photo of it using the app. Pantone Connect will then identify the color­—so you can finally leave those hefty Pantone swatches at home.

According to a press release from Pantone, the company devised the system to close the gap between the physical and digital for designers, and to help them adapt to “what a changed workflow looks like post-COVID.” Indeed, in a new normal of remote working and virtual meetings, if Pantone’s Color Match Card is accurate, it could be a godsend for digital artists when it comes to color communication from afar.

Accompanying the new card is Pantone Connect, which the company calls “a designer’s platform of Pantone Color Libraries” and includes the Pantone Connect app as well as an Adobe Creative Cloud extension. This allows Pantone’s color libraries to be used with Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign.

While it sounds like an ingenious idea, time will tell whether Pantone’s new invention will become one of the most essential graphic design tools for digital artists.