Pantone is a business, so I guess this is what they assume will sell next year, but is a bland, boring, sad "colour".
It would have been nice if they had gone: The world is a bland, boring and people are losing optimism, so we're going to make the colour for 2026 be a bright pink, yellow, green and encourage designers and product people to use as much colour as possible.
As a color company, I'm surprised they didn't lean into some of the current trends that involve shocks of bright color. I'm seeing a lot of Y2K-inspired design, holographic/dichroic color, and super expressive packaging. There are some GenZ/GenA pastel trends, but I do think these pastels have a Millennial stigma.
Idk if what the world needs right now is more boring gray. We are looking at houses right now and that is everywhere in the Covid renovations and I’m sick of it.
It has 12 upvotes prior to your comment. Assume 12 people out there have different motivations and desires to share and discuss things that you might not find particular interesting. When you see something that is not interesting, feel free to click that flag button (not ideal) or keep walkin past.
These colors choices have a habit of seeping into different industries and affecting our culture. There are valid reasons that might want to share their opinions on these things here on HN.
Agreed. This is a BS marketing stunt that Pantone pulls out of its ass every year, and some sad "journalists" get an article published about it in various online rags.
```css
:root { /* Core / --cloud-dancer: #F0EEE9; / Pantone 11-4201 approximation /
} ```