Pantone is the global authority of colour, founded by Lawrence Herbert in 1963. It has created a universal language of colour which is used in the design industry to standardise and accurately match different shades. The company is headquartered in New Jersey, with additional offices in Hong Kong and Kent, England. As well as Pantone’s colour-matching system, there is the Pantone Color Institute and Pantone Lifestyle. The institute works closely with companies to develop branding and visual identities based on trend predictions, while Pantone Lifestyle retails products like stationary or books using shades from the Pantone archive.

Pictured above is Pantone’s Plastic Chip Collection, which features 1,755 shades of colour that have been specifically created for designers that develop plastic products.