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.
“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.”
Laurie Pressman, the Pantone Color Institute’s vice president, said the white hue “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.”
Pantone also announced the company will launch a creative initiative in 2026 to spotlight artists creating their own interpretations of the Pantone color.
Pantone will release “surprise limited-edition designs from artists across all areas of design, from graphics to fashion” whose work reflects the soothing power of Cloud Dancer.
The new initiative is part of “a broader exploration of commissioning art and celebrating creativity,” said the company.
For the first iteration of the project, Pantone is collaborating with Emiliano Ponzi, an illustrator, visual artist, and author, to create a limited-edition tote bag that showcases Cloud Dancer through his “distinctive visual language, which combines conceptual depth with graphic precision.”
Ponzi’s tote will be available to Pantone fans on Pantone.com.
