MILLENNIAL PINK

by Jack Tufts

Labeled as our generation’s unofficial color, Millennial Pink has become one of the fastest growing trends in modern design. In all its shades and tones, saturation and opacity, this
color has become wildly popular in everything from design of tiny coffee
cups to full-scale apartment buildings.
Though it is contested which pink is the true millennial pink, most consider the color to be a strange combination
between peach and salmon, but as proven in design, many types of pink can be considered millennial pink.
Why do so many people obsess over
and love to use millennial pink?

Using pink in design can be considered
brave, as it is a bold color; yet pink is
also a friendly color that tends to make people happy. Though not everyone is content with the new fashionable trend, some say it is simply a fad that will soon go out of style, and that all the pink walls will be painted over with a new tremendous color (Gen-Z yellow?). As a certified fan of the color and truly fitting into millennial stereotype, I, for one say pink is here to stay and that pink within design is no new trend, but one with a timeless aesthetic.

the pink city

Built in the 1700s in India, was painted entirely in pink tones to welcome the visiting prince of Wales in 1876. The color was chosen because it  traditionally denotes hospitality. A law was passed soon after which declared that all buildings in Jaipur must be pink. 

la muralla roja

Designed by Ricardo Bofill in 1968, this apartment building on the Spanish coast takes influence from Arab Mediterranean architecture. The building was painted in pinks, reds, indigo, and violet to either contrast with nature or complement its purity.  

superkilen park

This project in Denmark was a collaboration between architecture firms BIG, Topotek1, and Superflex. The central square or "the red square" is the designated red part of the project (though actually millennial pink) and is also used for recreation. 

mark ange at milan design week

Designed by Mark Ange, this project was the most popular and the most instagrammed of many pink projects during the design week. 

paul smith flagship

This British designer's flagship store was painted entirely in pink when it opened in 2005. Though pink for a decade, the walls of this store recently became a social media phenomenon as the perfect Instagram wall.