There is no single official colour of the year. These are 91 verified announcements from 6 organisations, each choosing for its own customers. Names only: none of these organisations licenses its colour values for reuse, so no swatches are shown.
| Year | Pantone Color Institute | AkzoNobel (Dulux) ColourFutures | Sherwin-Williams | Benjamin Moore | WGSN with Coloro | Valspar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2028 | — | — | — | — | Radiant Earthbrown | — |
| 2027 | — | Soulful Sagegreen | Celerygreen | — | Luminous Blueblue | Cottage Doorblue |
| 2026 | Cloud Dancerwhite | Rhythm of Blues (Mellow Flow, Slow Swing, Free Groove)blue | Universal Khakineutral | Silhouettebrown | Transformative Tealblue | — |
| 2025 | Mocha Moussebrown | True Joyyellow | Color Capsule of the Year (nine colours)multi | Cinnamon Slatebrown | Future Duskpurple | — |
| 2024 | Peach Fuzzorange | Sweet Embracepink | Upwardblue | Blue Novablue | Apricot Crushorange | — |
| 2023 | Viva Magentared | Wild Wonderyellow | Redend Pointpink | Raspberry Blushred | Digital Lavenderpurple | — |
| 2022 | Very Peripurple | Bright Skiesblue | Evergreen Foggreen | October Mistgreen | Orchid Flowerpurple | — |
| 2021 | Ultimate Gray and Illuminatingmulti · Partial signal | Brave Groundneutral | Urbane Bronzebrown | Aegean Tealblue | AI Aquablue | — |
| 2020 | Classic Blueblue | Tranquil Dawngreen | Navalblue | First Lightpink | — | — |
| 2019 | Living Coralorange | Spiced Honeybrown | Cavern Clayorange | Metropolitangrey | — | — |
| 2018 | Ultra Violetpurple | Heart Woodpink | Oceansideblue | Calientered | — | — |
| 2017 | Greenerygreen | Denim Driftblue | Poised Taupeneutral | Shadowpurple | — | — |
| 2016 | Rose Quartz and Serenitymulti · Partial signal | Cherished Goldyellow | Alabasterwhite | Simply Whitewhite | — | — |
| 2015 | Marsalared | Copper Blushorange | Coral Reeforange | Guilford Greengreen | — | — |
| 2014 | Radiant Orchidpurple | Teal green (theme: Unlocking Potential)green | Exclusive Plumpurple | Breath of Fresh Airblue | — | — |
| 2013 | Emeraldgreen | Indigo blue (theme: Connections)blue | Aloegreen | Lemon Sorbetyellow | — | — |
| 2012 | Tangerine Tangoorange | Red (theme: Possibilities)red | Argylegreen | — | — | — |
| 2011 | Honeysucklepink | Sunshine yellow (theme: Appreciation)yellow | Indigo Batikblue | — | — | — |
| 2010 | Turquoiseblue | Light blue (theme: Reclaim)blue | — | — | — | — |
| 2009 | Mimosayellow | Jade green (theme: Responsibility)green | — | — | — | — |
| 2008 | Blue Irisblue | Imperial yellow (theme: Globalisation)yellow | — | — | — | — |
| 2007 | Chili Pepperred | Cool pink (theme: Urbanisation)pink | — | — | — | — |
| 2006 | Sand Dollarneutral | Yellow (theme: Restorative)yellow | — | — | — | — |
| 2005 | Blue Turquoiseblue | Bright orange (theme: Vitality)orange | — | — | — | — |
| 2004 | Tigerlilyorange | Aqua blue (theme: Balance)blue | — | — | — | — |
| 2003 | Aqua Skyblue | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2002 | True Redred | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2001 | Fuchsia Rosepink | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2000 | Cerulean Blueblue | — | — | — | — | — |
colour institute · design across sectors, fashion, product, graphics, brand licensing
Pantone presents the selection as a reading of the cultural mood, framed in colour psychology, and describes the Color Institute's work as trend forecasting alongside consulting and brand partnerships. Each announcement launches with licensed products. It has named a colour for every year since 2000, twice naming a pair.
paint manufacturer · interiors, architecture, coatings
AkzoNobel's Global Aesthetic Center invites a panel of international designers, architects and journalists to an annual forecasting meeting, distils the discussion into trend themes, and picks one colour (sometimes a set) that its brands then sell across many markets. It names the colour in the autumn before the year it is for.
paint manufacturer · interiors, exteriors
Sherwin-Williams says its colour and design team researches trends through the year, publishes the results as its Colormix forecast, and selects the Color of the Year from that forecast. For 2025 it named a nine-colour capsule instead of a single colour.
paint manufacturer · interiors
Benjamin Moore presents each choice as the work of its colour marketing and design team, with rationales drawn from fashion, design and what the team is already seeing in use; its releases do not describe a formal research method.
trend forecaster · fashion, beauty, consumer products, interiors
WGSN, a subscription trend forecaster, names a Colour of the Year jointly with the Coloro colour system two years ahead of the year it is for, and says it combines proprietary data with expert judgement. It publishes self-reported accuracy figures without an auditable method.
paint manufacturer · interiors, exteriors
Valspar's page gives a cultural rationale and coordinating colours for its selection but does not describe a research method.