colour standards company Pantone has announced a "fresh and zesty yellow-green shade” as the Colour of the Year for 2017.

According to the firm, PANTONE 15-0343 Greenery “evokes the first days of spring when nature’s greens revive, restore and renew.” It added that the shade is “being pulled to the forefront” of urban planning, architecture, lifestyle and design.

Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, said: “Greenery bursts forth in 2017 to provide us with the hope we collectively yearn for amid a complex social and political landscape. Satisfying our growing desire to rejuvenate, revitalise and unite, Greenery symbolises the reconnection we seek with nature, one another and a larger purpose.

“The tangy yellow-green speaks to our desire to express, explore, experiment and reinvent, imparting a sense of buoyancy.”

Describing the impact the colour has when used in interior and exterior design, Pantone said it “allows the green outdoors to become part of a room’s backdrop and ambiance.”

It added that introducing Greenery through living walls, terrariums, botanically-themed wallpaper, paint, accent furniture and decor provides respite and breathing space, and “can improve self-esteem, reduce anxiety and heighten awareness of one’s surroundings.”

Pantone chooses a different emerging colour to celebrate each year. ‘Colour experts’ at the Pantone Color Institute search extensively for new colour influences, taking inspiration from the entertainment industry, films in production, travelling art collections, fashion lines, forthcoming buildings and interiors and socio-economic conditions.