How Crayola is reinventing its colors
Although I do not consider myself an arts and crafts connoisseur, I cannot deny that coloring makes me extremely excited for more reasons than one. Adults and children alike can benefit from coloring for entertainment, relaxation and as a creative outlet. They look to one brand above all others for the certain colors that will fill their page.
Crayola Crayons, with their yellow box and green stripes, have been a necessity for teachers, students and even adults for years. Crayola has kept their classic colors mostly static throughout their history, until their huge announcements on March 30 and 31, according to reporter Sarah Whitten of CNBC. Whitten stated that Crayola is excited to make a change to their 24-pack lineup by retiring the beloved dandelion color to make way for a brand new nuance of the color blue to be announced in May.
No matter how disappointed I am to see my favorite golden-yellow color head towards the Crayola vault, I cannot help but wonder what this new color will be and how it will work to complement the residents of the current box. Christopher Mele, of The New York Times, mentions that Dandelion, which has graced the page coloring school buses, the sun, as well as its own box since its creation in 1990, is a color that will not be quickly forgotten. With this being said, the new shade of blue has big shoes to fill, becoming a part of the ranks with colors such as Cerulean, my personal favorite for sky and ocean backgrounds, and classic blue.
From an educational standpoint, I believe that the changes to Crayola’s colors will be beneficial to students and teachers alike, because it will provide a wider spectrum of hues and will keep children interested and engaged in expressing themselves through art. Children can use new colors such as the one announced by Crayola in their artwork to discover more about the color spectrum and how colors can blend to form new shades.
Most importantly, some would argue, the recent announcement has many wondering the new color’s name. When addressing this question, Whitten makes it clear that Crayola wants fans of the company to vote for the new shade’s name.
Depending on the hue of this new addition, however, I have a few ideas of my own. A lighter more pastel shade could be called “baby bonnet blue,” while a darker blue could be known as “Navy bay blue.” No matter what the name might turn out to be, I believe that Crayola’s popularity will only grow as a result of this news, and I look forward to getting to use this new shade.