2018年度色彩：未來是紫色的？

In these dark, chaotic times, it would not be unrealistic for someone, when asked what color will represent 2018, to look around and guess, say, black. Or maybe deep, bloody burgundy. Wartime red? Fake-tan orange? At the very least, soot gray.

在這些黑暗、混亂的時候，如果被問到什么色彩能代表2018年，某人環(huán)顧四周猜測是黑色，這并非不可能。又或是深紅的勃艮第色?戰(zhàn)時的紅色?人工曬出來的橘色?至少也得是煙灰色。

Any of them would seemingly match different shades of the general mood.

上面的任何一種色彩，似乎都能和大眾心情的各種色調(diào)相匹配。

And yet the self-proclaimed “color authorities” at Pantone sent approximately 10 people to blanket the globe for weeks at a time last year, searching for color signals in food, cars, cosmetics, clothes and housewares. They reconvened, pooled their findings, did their analysis and declared the color of 2018 to be … Ultra Violet.

然而潘通(Pantone)那些自封的“色彩權(quán)威”，在去年的某個時候派出約10人，對食品、車輛、化妝品、服裝及家居用品中的色彩信號進行了搜尋。隨后他們聚集起來，對發(fā)現(xiàn)的結(jié)果予以匯集，經(jīng)過分析，宣布2018年年度色彩是……紫外光色。

Huh?

啊?

Yup, the highlighter-purple shade that has also been the name of a Warhol superstar who died in 2014; a 2006 dystopian action film starring Milla Jovovich as a rebel infected with a vampiric virus; an online activist community founded in 2012 to combat sexism and violence toward women; and a kind of light that can cause skin cancer (ahem).

沒錯，這種熒光紫色的名稱，曾經(jīng)還是一名2014年去世、與沃霍爾關(guān)系密切的超級巨星的姓名;是一部反烏托邦電影的名字，米拉·喬沃維奇(Milla Jovovich)在其中飾演一名受到吸血鬼病毒感染的反叛者;是一個活動人士的在線社區(qū)，該社區(qū)創(chuàng)建于2012年，旨在與針對女性的性別歧視和暴力作斗爭;還是一種能導(dǎo)致皮膚癌的光線(呃哼)。

Those things may not be exactly what you think about when you think about what’s coming, but the history does demonstrate that the idea has a broad reach. Ultra Violet can be many things to many people.

當(dāng)你想到接下來會發(fā)生什么時，可能不會想到上述事物。但歷史確實顯示，這一概念的涉及面頗為廣泛。對不同的人來說，紫外光代表著不同的東西。

It “communicates originality, ingenuity and visionary thinking,” Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, said by way of explanation. It is found in the cosmos (think of all those swirling purple nebulae!), the wellness movement (amethyst crystals!) and was a favorite color of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who, Ms. Eiseman said, used to wear a purple cape when he was trying to be creative. Ditto Wagner, who liked to surround himself with purple when he was composing. Also, of course, Prince.

它“能傳達創(chuàng)意、巧思和前瞻性思維”，潘通色彩研究所(Pantone Color Institute)的執(zhí)行總監(jiān)萊亞特麗斯·艾斯曼(Leatrice Eiseman)解釋道。宇宙中有這種色彩(想想那些旋轉(zhuǎn)的紫色星云!)，養(yǎng)生運動中有這種顏色(紫水晶!)，它還是建筑師弗蘭克·勞埃德·賴特(Frank Lloyd Wright)最為喜愛的顏色。艾斯曼說當(dāng)賴特想變得更有創(chuàng)意時，就會穿上紫色斗篷。迪托·瓦格納(Ditto Wagner)喜歡作曲時，自己周圍都是紫色。當(dāng)然了，還有歌手“王子”。

“It’s also the most complex of all colors,” she said, “because it takes two shades that are seemingly diametrically opposed — blue and red — and brings them together to create something new.”

“它還是最為復(fù)雜的一種色調(diào)，”她說，“因為它需要兩種看起來截然相反的顏色——藍色和紅色——混在一起，才能創(chuàng)造出新的色彩。”

That’s an optimistic view of things. And, if the current standoff in Washington is any indication, one that seems more like wishful thinking than reality. But that, it turns out, is part of the point. At least this year.

這是對事情的樂觀看法。而且，如果目前華盛頓的僵局能給出什么跡象的話，這種看法更像是一廂情愿而非現(xiàn)實。但結(jié)果，這正是重點的一部分。至少今年如此。

“It’s truly a reflection of what’s needed in our world today,” said Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute. Not, note, “what’s going on in our world today.” Which is kind of an interesting distinction. It suggests that Pantone is not just observing and predicting, it’s going proactive.

“它確實是如今我們世界所需事物的反映，”潘通色彩研究所副總裁勞里·普萊斯曼(Laurie Pressman)說。要注意，它不是“如今世界上所發(fā)生的事情”。這個區(qū)別甚是有趣。它表明，潘通并不僅僅在觀察，也在預(yù)測，它在先行一步。

In the past, Pantone has skewed more reflective. In 2015, for example, it took the relatively radical step of naming two colors for 2016: rose quartz and serenity, a pink and a blue, in acknowledgment of our increasingly gender-fluid world. Last year, it went for a green tone to suggest new beginnings (and quite a beginning this first Trump year has been).

過去，潘通更多是反思現(xiàn)狀。比如，2015年，它劍走偏鋒，將兩種色彩命名為2016年度色彩：一種粉色和藍色——粉水晶和寧靜藍天，認可我們這個性別愈發(fā)具有流動性的世界。去年，它選了一種綠色，來表明新的開始(特朗普第一年可真是好一個開始)。

But for 2018, Ms. Eiseman said, “We wanted to pick something that brings hope and an uplifting message.” This is effectively the color-psychology equivalent of the theory that says that when you make yourself smile, you feel happier. Or the “Field of Dreams” mantra: “If you build it, he will come.”

但2018年的色彩，艾斯曼說，“我們想選擇能帶來希望和振奮人心訊息的色彩”。這種色彩心理學(xué)相當(dāng)于那種當(dāng)你讓自己笑出來，就會覺得更快樂的理論?；蚴请娪啊秹艋弥亍?Field of Dreams)中的頌歌：“如果你建好了，他就會來。”

In the Pantone version, if you wear it/drink it/drive it, solutions may appear. That’s a pretty ambitious belief. Will people buy it?

在潘通的版本里，如果你吃的/喝的/開的車是這種顏色的話，就會出現(xiàn)解決方法。這個信念很是有雄心。人們會買賬嗎?

Well, at this stage, a lot of us may try anything. Gird yourself. We may be in for a new kind of purple reign.

至少在現(xiàn)階段，我們很多人可能什么都愿意去嘗試。做好準(zhǔn)備，我們可能被一種新的紫色所統(tǒng)治。