The Color(s) of the Year
This is the unisex year. Pantone has selected two colors in combination as the “color of the year” for 2016. The two colors in combination are Rose Quartz and Serenity. 
According to Pantone, “we are experiencing a gender blur as it relates to fashion which has in turn impacted color trend throughout all other areas of design.” This is the first time Pantone has introduced two shades as the color of the year (and I hope the last). Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, describes the colors this season as transformative and transporting. “Colors this season transport us to a happier, sunnier place where we feel free to express a wittier version of our real selves,” said Eiseman. “With our culture still surrounded by so much uncertainty, we are continuing to yearn for those softer shades that offer a sense of calm and relaxation.”
So this spring you will see less differences in men’s and women’s clothing color choices. The complete 2016 color palette is more Easter egg pastel looking than the bold one-color choices of the past. 
Mark Mathis
Mark wrote his first direct-mail fundraising letter in 1981 for the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. The effort raised a few million dollars in undiscovered wills and legacy gifts. From that day forward Mark discovered a love of the big idea that moves the needle.
After 12 years at KWWL, Mark became a business owner as a co-founder of ME&V — rebranded as AMPERAGE in 2015. After 25 years of leading creative teams in video production, graphic design, PR, writing and web development, Mark transitioned out of ownership in 2021. Today he serves in an employee role as special projects consultant.
He is creatively ambidextrous — son of an artist and engineer — and famous for distilling complex ideas down to a few words and a few visuals. Mark is a writer. When he found that many nonprofits struggled with complex branding puzzles, he wrote the book, “NonProfit-NonMarketing .” He also wrote a novel called “Reenactment.”
Mark is an active blogger OneMinuteMarketer® with nearly 1,000 readers each week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. One of his most popular YouTube videos is on “How to Look Good on Zoom.”
One of Mark’s fondest business memories was being named to INC 500 two times and attending the INC 500 conference with other winners. Mark is considered by some a Civil War expert (and that explains his novel). Mark also served as an adjunct professor in the business and in the communications departments at Wartburg College.
Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is currently vice president of the University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communications Advisory Board.
Mark is married to state Sen. Liz Mathis, and the two love to travel, even when it means being trapped by a volcano in the Czech Republic for three weeks.