PANTONE 11-4201 Cloud Dancer, the color of the year 2026. Photo source: Pantone
Pantone on Thursday announced the much-anticipated color of the year 2026, an “airy and balanced white” called Cloud Dancer.
Self-described global authority on color Pantone claims that PANTONE 11-4201 Cloud Dancer has an “airy presence” that “brings a whisper of calm and peace to a noisy world.”
It's the first time Pantone has chosen white since it began designating the color of the year in 1999, according to Time Magazine.
The color of the year is selected by a team of experts and aims to “highlight the connection between culture and color,” the company explains.
This year's choice is meant to convey serenity and calm, which Pantone says is increasingly needed “in a frenetic society.”
“Like a blank canvas, Cloud Dancer expresses our desire for a new beginning. By shedding layers of outdated thinking, we open the door to new approaches,” Pantone said in its announcement.
“At this transformative moment, where we are reinventing our future and our place in the world, Pantone 11-4201 Cloud Dancer is an understated shade that promises clarity,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, in a press release. “The cacophony that surrounds us has become overwhelming, making it more difficult to hear the voice of the inner self. A conscious statement of simplification, Cloud Dancer amplifies our focus and frees us from the distractions of outside influences.”
Pantone is a global company specializing in color standardization, and the color of the year is chosen annually by the Pantone Color Institute, a team of specialists who provide color consultancy and anticipate market trends.
To select the color of the year, an international team analyzes new technologies, social values, art collections, travel destinations and assesses the overall mood of designers and consumers throughout the year.
“There are reasons why people are drawn to certain color families at a certain time. For us, it's all about identifying that color family that we see 'simmering' in all areas of design, and from there arriving at the shade that is required,” Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, told Time last year. “I always compare this team to color anthropologists.”
