Living

Here Is the World’s Ugliest Color (& It Has an Important Job)

published May 26, 2016
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
Post Image
(Image credit: artzenter)

We spend a lot of time talking about color, often in the context of how to pick a paint hue or how it can make you happier. But one research firm discovered what they’re calling the world’s ugliest color, which has been described as “dirty” and “death.”

Follow Topics for more like this

Follow for more stories like this

(Image credit: Pantone)

Pantone 448 C, or “opaque couché” is a greenish brown-gray that looks like it spent a few decades in a sewer. If you find it unpleasant, that’s the point.

The Australian government hired research agency GfK to redesign cigarette packaging in 2012, and they determined (with seven studies and 1,000 regular smokers) that this was the most deterring color to pair with the anti-smoking graphics.

Other colors in the running were lime green, white, beige, dark gray, and mustard, with dark brown coming in second (but was deemed too chocolatey).

Re-edited from a post originally published 5.26.16-NT