Crayola is running a contest to name its new blue. The medium-shade blue replaces Dandelion, a yellow crayon “retired” earlier this year.
Crayola announced last week that it’s introducing a blue crayon known for now as YInMn. The shade, which falls about in the middle of the blue pigment range, was discovered in 2009. The company, which is running a contest to find the perfect name for the new color, said it’s the first new blue pigment in 200 years.
YInMn will replace Dandelion, a cheerful yellow shade Crayola retired earlier this year. At the time, Society of American Florists Chairman Shirley Lyons, AAF, PFCI of Dandelions Flowers and Gifts in Eugene, Oregon, offered a lighthearted take on the change, which had some consumers quite worked up.
“We at Dandelions Flowers are so proud that Crayola is ‘blowing’ the color dandelion with a puff and a smile into the Hall of Fame,” laughed Lyons.
Lyons’ shop may no longer have a direct Crayola connection, but her home state does: Mas Subramanian, a chemist working at Oregon State University, discovered YInMn.
