THANKS, PANTONE: THE WORLD NEEDS 11-4201!

IVY BUCK AND ALINA EDWARDS REPORT (wittingly) “You Read That Write: Pantone’s 2026 Color of the Year is ‘Cloud Dancer,’ ” NPR, December 4, 2025: “The company describes it as ‘a lofty white that serves as a symbol of calming influence in a society rediscovering the value of quiet reflection.’ ” 

Hear! Hear! Twice before, SimanaitisSays has recognized this world authority on color: “Chocolate: Mine! Mine! Mine!,” September 18, 2015, recounted, “Lawrence Herbert, originally with an American printing company, devised the Pantone Color Matching System in 1963. Pantone Guides are used in a variety of industries for identifying specific hues. In 2004, Cadbury trademarked Pantone 2685C. In 2008, competitor Nestlé appealed this. What with one thing and another, in 2013 the court ruled in favor of Nestlé.”

One of many Pantone charts. R&T arties had books of them for specifying print colors.

And in “Celebrating Viva Magenta—And Also 1797, 716, 107, 356, 2748, And 2607,” December 9, 2022, SimanaitisSays reported Pantone 18-1750, Viva Magenta, as the company’s 2023 Color of the Year. Also discussed was Qatar’s response to LGBTQ coloration, what with that country’s criminalization of homosexuality. 

Flag of Pride. From top to bottom, Pantone’s 1797, 716, 107, 356, 2748, and 2607 make excellent choices.

The 2026 Choice: Cloud Dancer. NPR’s Ivy Buck and Alina Edwards describe, “Every year since 1999, Pantone, widely considered the world’s authority on color, has selected a shade it projects will represent and define the year ahead—a prediction of the upcoming year’s global mood and culture. The chosen color sits at the forefront of Pantone’s brand identity for the year, appearing in everything from commercials and Pantone-branded merchandise, to external brand and artist collaborations.”

This and other images from Pantone via NPR.

“In 2026,” Buck and Edwards continue, “Cloud Dancer and its Pantone trademark will appear on everything from Motorola smartphones and Command strips to Post-it Notes, Joybird furniture, and even Play-doh. Yes, these products are more or less just white. But Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, asserts that the chosen color ‘reflects what people are looking for.’ ”

You’re telling me.

Encouraging Tranquility and Alleviating Stress. Buck and Edwards note, “2026 marks the first year that Pantone has chosen a shade of white for Color of the Year. However, it’s not the first time the company has selected a color to encourage tranquility and alleviate stress. Back in 2011, Pantone’s Color of the Year was Honeysuckle, a reddish pink meant to ‘lift spirits and impart confidence to meet life’s ongoing challenges,’ according to the company’s official statement. The year before that, Pantone selected Turquoise to provide a ‘comforting escape from the everyday troubles of the world.’ And just two years ago in 2024, Peach Fuzz was Pantone’s pick to express a desire to ‘nurture ourselves and others.’ ”

A Personal Fav: Pantone chose Mocha Mousse as its Color of the Year for 2025. At its introduction, NPR’s Emma Bowman cited “The ‘evocative soft brown’ or ‘warming rich brown hue,’ the company said in a press release, ‘nurtures with its suggestion of the delectable quality of cacao, chocolate and coffee, appealing to our desire for comfort.’ “

Mocha Mouse PANTONE 17-1230. Image from Pantone Color Institute.

Yum.

Cloud Dancer’s Personality. Buck and Edwards quote Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute: “Similar to a blank canvas, Cloud Dancer signifies our desire for a fresh start,” she wrote on the company’s launch page. “An airy white hue, PANTONE 11-4201 Cloud Dancer opens up space for creativity, allowing our imagination to drift so that new insights and bold ideas can emerge and take shape.”

So Many Possibilities. I’m reminded of Stephen Sondheim’s wonderful Sunday in the Park with George celebrating the life of French pointillist George-Pierre Seurat: “George and Dot’s great-grandson is an artist, also named George. Like his great-grandfather, he too has to contend with the difficulties of producing modern art. A vision of Dot persuades George that his artistic choices are correct ones. ‘White: a blank page or canvas—so many possibilities.’ ”

And, for 2026, we’d hope some of these possibilities will be enlightening. ds 

© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2025