PANTONE COLOUR OF THE YEAR - 2026

Every year, Pantone announces the Colour of the Year. Pantone creates a system for precise colour matching globally, and across industries and materials. When you think about it, how do we know we're getting a colour match when we look at a colour swatch and a fabric sample, or paint for the wall, or a logo that we see on a product, a billboard or a website? The mind boggles!

This year's choice, "Cloud Dancer", raised a few eyebrows because some would say that "white" is a neutral, not a colour! Have you seen how many shades of white there are?!

Pantone say Cloud Dancer is

"A whisper of tranquility and peace in a noisy world"

They use words like calm, quiet reflection, relaxation & focus when describing it.

Wow! There's an awful lot of depth to colour theory!

What does it mean for our paper crafting? Well, whatever you want it to mean, really. If you're anything like me, you use what you like, and even if you know nothing at all about colour, you can still look at something and decide if it makes you feel good or not.

So there's a lot of personal taste that creeps into our response, and personally, I think that's ok!

Use what you like, disregard whether or not it goes, and ask yourself, does it suit the feeling, mood, or occasion I am creating the project for?

Happy New Year