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Friday Five with Laurie Pressman of Pantone

The Pantone name runs deep within the design world as the authority on color and woman that leads the global team of color and trend specialists is none other than Laurie Pressman. The Vice President of the Pantone Color Institute, the business end that deals with color intelligence, Pressman surrounds herself with all things color, self-described as “eating, drinking and breathing” it. In her spare time, she sits on the home products board at FIT and the fashion advisory board at Savannah College of Art and Design, along with speaking at conferences and advising clients on color trends. What keeps this busy color expert creatively inspired? Let’s take a look in this week’s Friday Five.

1. Leatrice Eiseman + David Shah
As someone who has always been on the look-out for what’s new and next, I feel so privileged to be in what I feel is a perfect role for me; one where I am constantly amazed and inspired by my global team and learning new things. When I first joined Pantone Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute and David Shah, our trend forecast partner at View Publications each took me under their wing, and with their breadth and depth of color knowledge opened me up to a whole new world, a Phenom that continues to this day.

Photo by Adam Scourfield/BBC/AP Photo/AP

Photo by Adam Scourfield/BBC/AP Photo/AP

2. Dr. Oliver Sacks
I first became aware of British neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks in a neuro psychology class I took during grad school at NYU where we were required to read his collection of short stories; The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. Immediately captivated by Dr. Sack’s ability to capture both the medical mystery and human drama of how the mind works, I read this book in one afternoon. As someone who is unendingly curious about the “how” and “why” behind everything I found Dr. Sacks inquisitiveness and the power of his observational skills to be absolutely fascinating. Working up until his last day, Dr. Sacks passion for his life’s work continually reminds me that things are not always as they seem, and how being engaged and looking beneath the surface is important to discovering the humanity and meaning that truly is.

PANTONEVIEW Colour Planner S/S 2017 – Evolve

PANTONEVIEW Colour Planner S/S 2017 – Evolve

3. Visual Design – fashion and the arts
I have always been attracted to originality and in awe of people who use their unique talent to make our world more beautiful through creative expression and the world of design. From those that are more well- known such as Michael Graves, Henri Matisse and Richard Avedon, to Jerome Robbins, Bob Fosse, Karl Lagerfeld and Adele or Amy Winehouse, as well as those that I see walking on the streets who put themselves together in a way that is quirky and off-beat, there are so many whom I admire and whose artistic freedom inspire me to be the very best at what I do.

PANTONEVIEW.com – Birgitta De Vos

PANTONEVIEW.com – Birgitta De Vos

4. Travel
Whether returning to a favorite destination or traveling some place new, I love discovering new things and find the experience of immersing myself into a different culture for a period of time very exhilarating. In addition to soaking up the museums and anything else related to art and history, I especially love just walking around, and visiting the local markets, food and otherwise, as you can learn a lot about a culture this way and as someone involved in the world of trend, there is always the shopping.

PANTONEVIEW Colour Planner S/S 2017 – Evolve

PANTONEVIEW Colour Planner S/S 2017 – Evolve

5. Meditation + Exercise
I combine these 2 as they both speak to health, wellness, strength and energy. Each are essential to my daily life as each in their different ways help to quiet / relax my mind so I can hear myself think, reduce stress and create a feeling of calm, increase my ability to focus and bring clarity to my thought process.

Caroline Williamson is Editor-in-Chief of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found searching for vintage wares, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen, or reworking playlists on Spotify.