Tracking the Trend: Our Pantone Color of the Year 2026 Prediction

Every December, the Pantone Color Institute announces their “Color of the Year”, a single hue meant to reflect cultural moods, design trends, consumer behavior and broader socio-economic shifts. The chosen color is used as inspiration across fashion, interiors, product design, branding and more.

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Pantone started their iconic “Color of the Year” in the year 2000, with the first color roll-out being cerulean blue, meant to represent a calm and optimistic entry into a new millennium. There have been a wide range of colors since then, with the 2025 color being mocha mousse, a warm, comforting brown hue. Colors are chosen by a group of Pantone representatives who review global influences such as social unrest, technology impact, wellness trends, consumer behavior, materials, digital culture, and more.

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Here at View, our love for color makes the annual color release kind of a big deal. Not only do our artistic brains love to see new colors and trends, but the announcements help guide some of our branding and design decisions. Our team of color nerds (who’s favorite team game is Hues and Cues) find it fun to not only pay attention to the release, but also predict what the color may be each year.

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With that being said and the new year right around the corner, let’s take a look at our team’s guesses for the Pantone “Color of the Year” 2026 prediction!

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We put ourselves in Pantone’s shoes, looking at the past 10 years of colors, as well as current social and technological trends to form our Pantone Color of the Year 2026 prediction.

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Tanya’s Prediction

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Elizabeth’s Prediction

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Maddie’s Prediction

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Zoha’s Prediction

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Christina’s Prediction

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Abby’s Prediction