In these dark, chaotic times, it would not be unrealistic for someone, when asked what color will represent 2018, to look around and guess, say, black. Or maybe deep, bloody burgundy. Wartime red? Fake-tan orange? At the very least, soot gray.

在这些黑暗、混乱的时候，如果被问到什么色彩能代表2018年，某人环顾四周猜测是黑色，这并非不可能。又或是深红的勃艮第色?战时的红色?人工晒出来的橘色?至少也得是烟灰色。

Any of them would seemingly match different shades of the general mood.

上面的任何一种色彩，似乎都能和大众心情的各种色调相匹配。

And yet the self-proclaimed “color authorities” at Pantone sent approximately 10 people to blanket the globe for weeks at a time last year, searching for color signals in food, cars, cosmetics, clothes and housewares. They reconvened, pooled their findings, did their analysis and declared the color of 2018 to be … Ultra Violet.

然而潘通(Pantone)那些自封的“色彩权威”，在去年的某个时候派出约10人，对食品、车辆、化妆品、服装及家居用品中的色彩信号进行了搜寻。随后他们聚集起来，对发现的结果予以汇集，经过分析，宣布2018年年度色彩是……紫外光色。

Huh?

啊?

Yup, the highlighter-purple shade that has also been the name of a Warhol superstar who died in 2014; a 2006 dystopian action film starring Milla Jovovich as a rebel infected with a vampiric virus; an online activist community founded in 2012 to combat sexism and violence toward women; and a kind of light that can cause skin cancer (ahem).

没错，这种荧光紫色的名称，曾经还是一名2014年去世、与沃霍尔关系密切的超级巨星的姓名;是一部反乌托邦电影的名字，米拉·乔沃维奇(Milla Jovovich)在其中饰演一名受到吸血鬼病毒感染的反叛者;是一个活动人士的在线社区，该社区创建于2012年，旨在与针对女性的性别歧视和暴力作斗争;还是一种能导致皮肤癌的光线(呃哼)。

Those things may not be exactly what you think about when you think about what’s coming, but the history does demonstrate that the idea has a broad reach. Ultra Violet can be many things to many people.

当你想到接下来会发生什么时，可能不会想到上述事物。但历史确实显示，这一概念的涉及面颇为广泛。对不同的人来说，紫外光代表着不同的东西。

It “communicates originality, ingenuity and visionary thinking,” Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, said by way of explanation. It is found in the cosmos (think of all those swirling purple nebulae!), the wellness movement (amethyst crystals!) and was a favorite color of the architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who, Ms. Eiseman said, used to wear a purple cape when he was trying to be creative. Ditto Wagner, who liked to surround himself with purple when he was composing. Also, of course, Prince.

它“能传达创意、巧思和前瞻性思维”，潘通色彩研究所(Pantone Color Institute)的执行总监莱亚特丽斯·艾斯曼(Leatrice Eiseman)解释道。宇宙中有这种色彩(想想那些旋转的紫色星云!)，养生运动中有这种颜色(紫水晶!)，它还是建筑师弗兰克·劳埃德·赖特(Frank Lloyd Wright)最为喜爱的颜色。艾斯曼说当赖特想变得更有创意时，就会穿上紫色斗篷。迪托·瓦格纳(Ditto Wagner)喜欢作曲时，自己周围都是紫色。当然了，还有歌手“王子”。

“It’s also the most complex of all colors,” she said, “because it takes two shades that are seemingly diametrically opposed — blue and red — and brings them together to create something new.”

“它还是最为复杂的一种色调，”她说，“因为它需要两种看起来截然相反的颜色——蓝色和红色——混在一起，才能创造出新的色彩。”

That’s an optimistic view of things. And, if the current standoff in Washington is any indication, one that seems more like wishful thinking than reality. But that, it turns out, is part of the point. At least this year.

这是对事情的乐观看法。而且，如果目前华盛顿的僵局能给出什么迹象的话，这种看法更像是一厢情愿而非现实。但结果，这正是重点的一部分。至少今年如此。

“It’s truly a reflection of what’s needed in our world today,” said Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute. Not, note, “what’s going on in our world today.” Which is kind of an interesting distinction. It suggests that Pantone is not just observing and predicting, it’s going proactive.

“它确实是如今我们世界所需事物的反映，”潘通色彩研究所副总裁劳里·普莱斯曼(Laurie Pressman)说。要注意，它不是“如今世界上所发生的事情”。这个区别甚是有趣。它表明，潘通并不仅仅在观察，也在预测，它在先行一步。

In the past, Pantone has skewed more reflective. In 2015, for example, it took the relatively radical step of naming two colors for 2016: rose quartz and serenity, a pink and a blue, in acknowledgment of our increasingly gender-fluid world. Last year, it went for a green tone to suggest new beginnings (and quite a beginning this first Trump year has been).

过去，潘通更多是反思现状。比如，2015年，它剑走偏锋，将两种色彩命名为2016年度色彩：一种粉色和蓝色——粉水晶和宁静蓝天，认可我们这个性别愈发具有流动性的世界。去年，它选了一种绿色，来表明新的开始(特朗普第一年可真是好一个开始)。

But for 2018, Ms. Eiseman said, “We wanted to pick something that brings hope and an uplifting message.” This is effectively the color-psychology equivalent of the theory that says that when you make yourself smile, you feel happier. Or the “Field of Dreams” mantra: “If you build it, he will come.”

但2018年的色彩，艾斯曼说，“我们想选择能带来希望和振奋人心讯息的色彩”。这种色彩心理学相当于那种当你让自己笑出来，就会觉得更快乐的理论。或是电影《梦幻之地》(Field of Dreams)中的颂歌：“如果你建好了，他就会来。”

In the Pantone version, if you wear it/drink it/drive it, solutions may appear. That’s a pretty ambitious belief. Will people buy it?

在潘通的版本里，如果你吃的/喝的/开的车是这种颜色的话，就会出现解决方法。这个信念很是有雄心。人们会买账吗?

Well, at this stage, a lot of us may try anything. Gird yourself. We may be in for a new kind of purple reign.

至少在现阶段，我们很多人可能什么都愿意去尝试。做好准备，我们可能被一种新的紫色所统治。