Cloud Dancer, Pantone’s 2026 Color of the Year pick, sparks debate over playing it safe

Pantone recently announced its 2026 Color of the Year as Cloud Dancer, a base shade of white that has been widely criticized by consumers as underwhelming.

Thomas McMillan, professor of practice in marketing and director of the Center for Retailing Innovation at Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School, said this choice favors safety over boldness, ultimately limiting its potential cultural and marketing impact.

“Cloud Dancer is widely viewed as underwhelming because white is already pervasive across retail,” he said. “It dominates home interiors, apparel basics and packaging design, leaving little sense of discovery or novelty. When a trend authority selects a color that consumers already see everywhere, it can feel less like a forward-looking statement and more like confirmation of the status quo.”

McMillan said white functions as a default in both a symbolic and literal sense, making its selection safe but uninspiring.

“In paint, every gallon begins as a white base, and color formulas are added to create every other shade,” he said. “Beyond paint, white is the safest option across home, apparel and packaging because it is easy to live with, easy to match and rarely polarizing. Because white already serves as the starting point across categories, naming it Color of the Year reinforces an existing baseline rather than pushing consumer behavior in a new direction.”

Since 2010, Pantone has made a yearly tradition of selecting specific shades to represent the upcoming year and anchor high-profile brand collaborations. Previous examples include 2024’s Peach Fuzz and 2025’s Mocha Mousse, both of which appeared in partnerships with brands such as Motorola, Joybird and Crayola. While McMillan said there is limited evidence that the Color of the Year alone drives measurable sales increases, its influence is more indirect, reinforcing trends already forming in the market.

“Awards like Color of the Year can support sales when paired with strong products, effective marketing and accessible price points, particularly in categories like paint or home decor where trial is easy,” he said. “However, it is difficult to isolate the color designation itself as the primary driver of sales spikes. More often, the designation acts as an amplifier, helping already well-positioned products gain attention rather than creating demand on its own.”

In the case of Cloud Dancer, McMillan said the choice appears to lean more toward symbolism than measurable commercial disruption.

“Symbolic impact is about messaging and meaning. It reflects cultural themes like calm, reset or restraint and fuels conversation, editorial coverage and brand storytelling,” he said. “The color serves as a shared creative platform that brands use for press, storytelling and design credibility.”

Rather than innovating through color, brands may focus on making Cloud Dancer feel new through texture, material choice, finish and contrast, McMillan said. As a result, collaborations and campaigns are more likely to emphasize storytelling and public relations than transformative product innovation.

Although Cloud Dancer is largely considered a safe, baseline choice, McMillan said it also risks being overlooked amid more vibrant choices from competing brands.

“When consumers are simultaneously seeing bolder picks from IKEA, Etsy and major paint brands, Pantone’s choice of white competes in a much noisier landscape and risks blending into the background rather than standing out,” he said. “Overall, the color may reinforce existing minimalist and clean design trends rather than create new ones.”