Pantone chooses billowy white ‘Cloud Dancer’ as its color of the year
Dec. 4 (UPI) — On Thursday, Pantone announced its Color of the Year for 2026: Cloud Dancer.
Cloud Dancer is described on Pantone’s website as “a billowy white imbued with serenity.”
The company’s press release said, “Cloud Dancer encourages true relaxation and focus, allowing the mind to wander and creativity to breathe, making room for innovation.
“In motion and in pause, Cloud Dancer drifts between light and ethereal, a living calm that invites renewal, vision in serenity and creative release.”
“At this time of transformation, when we are reimagining our future and our place in the world, Cloud Dancer is a discrete white hue offering a promise of clarity,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, in a statement. “The cacophony that surrounds us has become overwhelming, making it 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.”
Several products that partner with Pantone will release products featuring the color, including Motorola, Play-Doh, Post-it, Joybird, Command, Pura and Mandarin Oriental.
“We are living in a transitional time where people are seeking truth, possibility, and a new way of living,” said Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, in a statement. “Cloud Dancer is an airy white hue that exemplifies our search for balance between our digital future and our primal need for human connection — a liminal space that is a launchpad for creative expression — as individuals and communities are experimenting beyond traditional boundaries, opening the door to increased imagination and innovation.”
The color for 2025 was Mocha Mousse, “an evocative soft brown that transports our senses into the pleasure and deliciousness it inspires.”
The 2024 color was Peach Fuzz, and 2023 was Viva Magenta.
