Pantone names its 2026 color of the year

With the new year just weeks away, the color experts at Pantone have declared 2026’s official Color of the Year is “Cloud Dancer.”Cloud Dancer is “a billowy, balanced white imbued with a feeling of serenity,” a color that’s designed to both soothe us and inspire us to make a fresh new start, the company said Dec.

With the new year just weeks away, the color experts at Pantone have declared 2026’s official Color of the Year is “Cloud Dancer.”

Cloud Dancer is “a billowy, balanced white imbued with a feeling of serenity,” a color that’s designed to both soothe us and inspire us to make a fresh new start, the company said Dec. 4.

Pantone 11-4201 Cloud Dancer is an “ethereal” hue that’s a symbol of a “calming influence in a frenetic society.” The color is similar to a blank canvas, Pantone said, and it signifies our desire to begin anew.

Cloud Dancer is the perfect color for quieting the mind, according to Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute.

Pantone's color of the year for 2026 is called Cloud Dancer.Courtesy of The Development“At this time of transformation, when we are reimagining our future and our place in the world, Pantone 11-4201 Cloud Dancer is a discrete hue offering a promise of clarity,” Eiseman said. “The cacophony that surrounds us has become overwhelming, making it harder to hear the voices of our inner selves.”