In today’s cacophony, where finding inner peace and heeding the inner voice is difficult, Pantone, the self-styled colour experts, through their pick, has reminded us to relax and be creative.
For the year 2026, Pantone, has selected 11-4201 Cloud Dancer as their colour of the year, describing the shade to have an “aerated presence” which “acts as a whisper of calm and peace in a noisy world.”
What’s the shade ‘Cloud Dancer’ all about?
This delicate white, chosen to be the colour of the year, aims to represent “serenity and tranquillity”, which Pantone says is ever in need “in a frenetic society.”
But how exactly would you describe this shade? Pantone notes that “Cloud Dancer is a soft, airy, warm-tinted shade of white. It’s not like a white bright paper or an icy optical white, billowy, balanced white”.
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In its announcement, the company asserted, “Similar to a blank canvas, Cloud Dancer signifies our desire for a fresh start. Peeling away layers of outmoded thinking, we open the door to new approaches.”
Why the choice of Cloud Dancer?
But why was this billowy shade picked as the colour of 2026? The brains behind this pick have made one thing clear: ‘Cloud Dancer’ reflects a balance of clarity and quietness in the fast-paced world.
Leatrice Eiseman, the executive director of Pantone, has outlined several reasons for why Cloud Dancer is the best pick. “At this time of transformation, when we are reimagining our future and our place in the world, Cloud Dancer is a discrete hue offering a promise of clarity,” Eiseman said in a press release.
She emphasised that it eases the “cacophony” that becomes overwhelming for us. “It’s harder to hear the voices of our inner selves. A conscious statement of simplification, Cloud Dancer enhances our focus, providing release from the distraction of external influences.”
“It created spaces where function and feeling intertwine to build atmospheres of serenity and spaciousness. The effect “minimalist, yet not stark,” Eiseman continued.
Pantone’s vice president, Laurie Pressman, also noted several hallmarks that define Cloud Dancer as the 2026 colour of the year. Pressman told Dezeen, “Cloud Dancer is a lofty white that reads like a breath of fresh air. It speaks of our desire to live in a world that’s balanced, kind, and deeply human.”
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“The name Cloud Dancer does most of the work. Nowadays, it’s hard to resist the idea of rising above it all, even if just for a moment. The jury is out,” Pressman continued.
The institute’s vice president further added, “Cloud Dancer is said to deliver: a name that suggests altitude, lightness, and a vantage point above the chaos.”
How have others reacted to the choice of Cloud Dancer?
However, despite the positive arguments made by Pantone’s team, social media has given a mixed reaction to the Cloud Dancer. Some call it interesting, while some are outraged.
Reacting to Pantone’s Instagram announcement post, Jason Rhee, a designer, wrote, “Choosing the colour white during this social and political climate really says something…”
Another Instagram user commented, “The colour of the year being colourless is a recession indicator.”
One user was quick to declare it a “microaggression”, saying, “The choice feels like a microaggression to me, I just can’t prove it yet.”
How does Pantone select the colour each year?
A global colour-standardisation company, Pantone, chooses the colour of the year after much deliberation.
Its selection process is equivalent to reading the atmosphere like a language. Pressman explains that “this is a global team looking at everything that’s happening in the world”.
“The institute’s international team, colour anthropologists track influences from fashion, interiors, art, film, travel, and even geopolitics, distilling it all into one shade that captures the zeitgeist,” its vice president added.
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Pressman stressed that the team takes the selection process “extremely seriously”, saying, “The colour we select is not an arbitrary decision.”
And for those who don’t remember, here are some of Pantone’s previous colours of the year — Mocha Mousse, a warm, mellow brown, in 2025; Peach Fuzz, described as a soft and peaceful tone, in 2024.
After this announcement, expect Cloud Dancer to be everywhere — from the runways to interior design and even your own homes.
With inputs from agencies
HomeExplainersIt’s white, it’s billowy, it’s ‘Cloud Dancer’… Why Pantone’s 2026 Colour of the Year is unusualEnd of Article