Pantone expands its SkinTone Guide to 138 shades

Pantone, the global authority on colour, is expanding its SkinTone Guide with an additional 28 new shades, featuring a wider array of darker tones and yellow undertones to appeal to a wider audience.

The SkinTone Guide, which marks its 10th anniversary this year, has been expanded to a total of 138 shades to incorporate “even more diverse shades,” explained Pantone to assist fashion, beauty and product development.

The move means that the SkinTone Guide, developed by Pantone colour scientists by measuring thousands of actual skin tones across the full spectrum of human skin types, will help brands and designers to meet the needs to include “every skin tone match imaginable,” as more brands and companies look to be more inclusive.

Tannese Williams, product manager for fashion, home and interiors for Pantone, said in a statement: “Our goal is to provide an inclusive, global product, in both digital and physical spaces, that reflects our global society and empowers companies to offer more inclusive colour matches for their audiences around the world.

“Colour inclusivity has always been an important part of our work, and we look forward to leading that charge in this next evolution of our products.”