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.

Cloud Dancer, Pressman said, is “a natural white shade that symbolizes our desire for a fresh start. Like a blank slate, Cloud Dancer signifies the beginning of something new.” Later, she called it “a whisper of calm in a noisy world.”

Pantone has unveiled its lightest-ever Color of the Year for 2026!The chosen shade, Cloud Dancer is a subtle off-white meant to inspire clarity and calm.Pantone, the global colour authority and provider of professional colour language

A s the year starts winding down, Pantone is reminding us that sometimes the most inspiring and thought-provoking ideas start from a blank canvas. The color authority officially named PANTONE 11-4201 Cloud Dancer, an ethereal white that feels like a breath of fresh air, as their Color of the Year for 2026.

In an era when every color is in all the time, where do you even go next? Pantone has a suggestion. Since Pantone began naming its Color of the Year in 2000, we’ve seen two flavors of both brown and yellow,