Why Pantone’s Colour of 2026, ‘Cloud Dancer’, didn’t hit

Call me basic, but I live for the start of a new year and all the ‘wraps’ ‘trend reports’ and ‘word of the year’s that it brings. Being a graphic and packaging designer, my favourite of these annual reports is Pantone’s Colour of the Year.

Generally, I’m a bit of a defender of Pantone – are their swatch books far too expensive? Yes. Was it a cheeky move adding on a digital subscription service so that you can actually embed said swatches into your artwork file? Absolutely. But I’m slightly in awe of how they’ve monopolised colour across the world. I find it fascinating that the PMS (Pantone Matching System) extends from my home office in Adelaide to the large-scale manufacturers in China. I may not be able to understand the foreign characters on their dielines, but we can absolutely unite over what PMS 116 C should look like. That’s kinda nice, right?

From a position of slight bias, I watched on in mild amusement as people lost their minds over Peach Fuzz’s controversial ‘fleshy’ tones and Mocha Mousse’s ‘sad beige’ sentiment. And overall, I felt a bit bad for Pantone. Sometimes people really just like a punching bag, and a big, faceless corporation is an easy hit. I personally felt that Mocha Mousse, in particular, was absolutely on the money, as people embraced warm, earthy palettes in their homes and wardrobes.

I’m also a BIG fan of an Off-White in a colour-palette, to warm and soften the tone, and I would say that many designers (interior, graphic, packaging and fashion alike) agree. A little sprinkle of cyan, magenta and yellow perfectly softens a stark white, and Pantone’s Colour of 2026 has all of these ingredients.

So why didn’t Cloud Dancer hit? Here’s the 3 reasons that stand out to me.

1.     It’s too similar to the colours of 2024 and 2025. These colours were all chosen for the same reason – they’re soft, balanced, warm and calm. Apparently, this reflects the state of the world and how we’re all looking for peace and fresh starts. But I’d argue, people are starting to tire of the narrative that we must search for balance and ‘tranquillity’ and nothing else – where’s the passion in that? All three of these colours are background colours, or side-characters, if you will. They’re great as part of a larger palette, as they help let other colours shine. But three years in a row, that feels a bit… boring. We want to see the main character, and feel something inspiring.

2.     It doesn’t feel unique. Yes, different shades come and go, but tell me – when does white go out of fashion? Never! Not really, anyway. You could look back over the last 50 years, and white will have never gone away. It’s always there – on the walls of your house, or in the pages of your notebook, or in the threads of your favourite plain-white-tee that you can pair with anything. It doesn’t symbolise 2026 anymore than it symbolised 2019 or 2002.

3.     It’s not aligned to the trends. Minimalism comes and goes and comes again, and in its most recent iteration (the era of textural, earthy, minimalism) it’s certainly stuck around for a while. And it may continue to, in the background, but the more prominent and interesting trend is the rise of rich colour. People are painting their walls, adding accessories to their outfits, and dropping a feature colour into their branding. Sure, you’ll probably see a neutral white there in the background, but it’s not really the hero of the story.

Personally, I’d have loved to see a jewel blue or a rich burgundy, but I guess I’ll have to set my sights on 2027. Better luck next time, Pantone.