Orange cars have been (back) in for some time now and are slowly moving from motor show stands to supermarket car parks.

I dubbed it my Hit Car Colour of the Year back in May. This was a result of SO many new cars and motor show stars appearing in varying shades of orange.

Now, thanks to Pantone voting an orange hue its Colour of the Year 2012, its scope may soon stretch to the catwalk and the make-up counter, too.

In the car world, Bentley started the trend with the latest Continental GT back in November 2010. Today, VW Group brand partner is carrying it onto the road with orange Q3 and, from early next year, A1 Sportback.

(As is increasingly the case, Audi is launching the five-door A1 with a bespoke colour – Samoa Orange – ensuring it will probably be the marketing ‘brochure colour’ at the launch event. Expect to see a lot of it in early 2012)

Now, orange is set to gain official recognition as a cool colour, courtesy of the Pantone Matching System propriety colour space. Each year, it announces its Colour of the Year, one researched, debated and chosen to ‘connect with the zeitgeist’. And this year’s colour has been revealed.

Colour of the Year 2012

The 2012 Colour of the Year is Pantone 17-1463 Tangerine Tango. Yes, orange.

Why? Because it’s a vivacious, enticing hue, says Pantone: ‘The 2011 Color of the Year, PANTONE 18-2120 Honeysuckle, encouraged us to face everyday troubles with verve and vigor. Tangerine Tango, a spirited reddish orange, continues to provide the energy boost we need to recharge and move forward.’

As Pantone itself says, orange has grown in popularity and gained acceptance amongst both designers and consumers. Hence, receiving official validation from the colourspace masters for 2012.

What next for Tangarine Tango, then? Fashion, reckons Pantone: look out for it in the 2012 collections of Tommy Hilfiger, Nanette Lepore, Cynthia Steffe by Shaun Kearney, Elie Tahari and Adrienne Vittandini, it says.

Cosmetics, too: it’s apparently particularly good for eyeshadow, as it’s ‘a complementary opposite that flatters blue or green eyes. When paired with brown eyes, it brings out an amber cast.’

I’m curious to see what happens now, and will be looking to people who know much more about this stuff than I (chiefly, my girlfriend) to tell me how orange is making its way into High Fashion.

In the meantime… geeks (like me), do you want to recreate Tangerine Tango yourself? Try the CMYK code: 0/82/80/0. The official Pantone code is 17-1463. Hexadecimal? #FA500A will do it for you.

So… what IS the Pantone Colour of the Year?

A very thoughtful process, says Pantone. It scours the world for influences, from the entertainment industry, art collections, new artists, travel destinations ‘and other socio-economic conditions’. Not only that, continues Pantone, but influences also come from technology, including new textures and effects that can affect colour.

Influences even, get this, stretch to ‘upcoming sports events that capture worldwide attention’.

The Colour of the Year influences product development and purchasing decisions across multiple industries, continues Pantone: ‘fashion, home and industrial design… (even) product packaging and graphic design’. Who knew.

Past winners? Here’s a list, with the Pantone codes, colour-coded in hexadecimal:

• PANTONE 18-2120 Honeysuckle (2011)

• PANTONE 15-5519 Turquoise (2010)

• PANTONE 14-0848 Mimosa (2009)

• PANTONE 18-3943 Blue Iris (2008)

• PANTONE 19-1557 Chili Pepper (2007)

• PANTONE 13-1106 Sand Dollar (2006)

• PANTONE 15-5217 Blue Turquoise (2005)

• PANTONE 17-1456 Tigerlily (2004)

• PANTONE 14-4811 Aqua Sky (2003)

• PANTONE 19-1664 True Red (2002)

• PANTONE 17-2031 Fuchsia Rose (2001)

• PANTONE 15-4020 Cerulean (2000)

 + My hit car colour of 2011

+ My hit car colour of 2010

+ From the Porsche archives: Carmine Red and the Panamera GTS

1 in 4 people in the UK buy the same colour car each year. In 1998, revealed the SMMT, this would be a red car. In 2008, though, it was silver.

Think this has led to a big change in the UK motoring scene? Well, yes, in a sense, it has. 12 years ago, car showrooms were heavy on the red.

Today, every new car on the road seems to be silver, such is the dominance of the designer’s favourite hue.

However, the changes may not be as big as you think. Second-favourite in 1998? Blue. Second-favourite in 2008? Er, blue… Different shades of, granted, but still consistent dominance.

3rd in 1998 was white. 3rd in 2008 was black. This initially had me questioning the stats: surely, given white’s current popularity, it should be the other way around? Ah but no. Speak to anyone in the industry and they’ll say the current white flurry is led by fashion. White wasn’t quite in fashion during 2008. It’s a more recent thing: thus, how long will it last?

Back to silver, though. It sat in 5th place back in 1998, with just 9 percent of people choosing it. By its very nature, though, silver is metallic, so means a cost-extra on most cars. Is the switch thus just a change of a wealthier economy? Or is it car brands’ modern-day, cynically-dull non-metallic paint colour options..?

Do please, ahem, feel free to spell out your thoughts in black and white (groan).

Top colours 2008
1 Silver: 25%
2 Blue: 24%
3 Black: 14%
4 Red: 13%
5 Green: 9%

Top colours 1998
1 Red: 26%
2 Blue: 25%
3 White: 13%
4 Green: 10%
5 Silver: 9%

Peugeot car ads give the game away

BMW PR shows professionalism of industry

Audi gets Ashes To Ashes at Geneva

COLOUR coding is ace. Take notes. Important? Orange highlighter. For reference? Green highlighter. Something not vital, but good to skim over? Yellow.

This logic is inbred because there’s nothing I find more satisfying than a common design whose purpose is differentiated by colour.

Utility pipes, for example.

• Red for electrical power lines
• Orange for telecoms and optical fibres
• Blue for drinking water
• Yellow for gas
• Green for sewerage and waste

That’s not all.

There’s Penguin books:

• Orange for general fiction
• Green for crime
• Pink for travel
• Red for drama
• Purple for essays
• Grey for world affairs
• Yellow for ‘misc’

Ford adopted this with the 1989 Fiesta MkIII.

How? By altering the pinstriping in the bumper. Utter genius:

• Silver for ‘posh’ Ghia
• Black for ‘cooking’ 1.6S
• Blue for ‘hot’ XR2i
• Green for the ‘scorching’ (and later) RS Turbo

Thus, you could spot the cred of the Fiesta approaching you at 100 paces – the complete antithesis of today’s manufacturer idea of badge-name-less cars.

Today, I still idolise that blue stripe, and would put the green stripe on old Gormley’s Fourth Plinth.

Why, when we know so much more about clear and easy interfaces, are car makers not doing the same today?

Why Ford Econetics break the rules

Volkswagen looks to history for GTD

BMW tells me why its instruments are lit in orange