Pantone Unveils Prince-Inspired Custom Color, ‘Love Symbol #2’

By Sameer Rao Aug 15, 2017

Prince Rogers Nelson’s estate honored the late artist’s contributions to all things purple by collaborating with the Pantone Color Institute to create a newly-released shade, "Love Symbol #2."

Billboard reports that the estate and institute—which works with various brands to determine custom official colors for marketing purposes—announced the new shade yesterday (August 14). The outlet adds that the color takes its name from Prince’s own "love symbol," a combination of astrological "male" and "female" icons that Wired reported he adopted for 1992’s "The Love Symbol Album" to both evoke gender-fluid sexual identity and protest the control his then-label, Warner Bros., had over his output. He used the symbol as his primary artist name from 1994 to 1996 while finishing his Warner Bros. contract.

“The color purple was synonymous with who Prince was and will always be," Troy Carter, the estate’s entertainment advisor, said in a statement on Pantone’s website. "This is an incredible way for his legacy to live on forever."

"We are honored to have worked on the development of Love Symbol #2, a distinctive new purple shade created in memory of Prince, ‘the Purple One,’" Pantone Color Institute vice president Laurie Pressman adds in the same announcement. "A musical icon known for his artistic brilliance, Love Symbol #2 is emblematic of Prince’s distinctive style. Long associated with the purple family, Love Symbol #2 enables Prince’s unique purple shade to be consistently replicated and maintain the same iconic status as the man himself."

Pantone’s statement also says that the color, which you can see below, was inspired by the hue of Prince’s signature Yamaha piano. 

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Prince died last year from an overdose of fentanyl. His death at age 57 inspired tributes from awards shows, state legislatures and academic conferences alike.