Things seemed to be a little simpler back in the day when trying to figure out color trends was very much a matter of individual tastes. Sure, there have been forecasting services for years but they tended to be pretty broad in their choices. None really gambled on picking a single color as IT.
There might be some debate on this but Pantone, the color systems and services firm, was the first to single out a color of the year in 1999. Ever since then they’ve been the gold standard – sorry, we couldn’t resist – for color selection.
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But over the past few years a lot of other companies have gotten into the act, including paint suppliers, TV networks and other consulting services have all made their pick for the color of the year. This usually happens towards the end of the year so we’re already seeing some of these selections coming out as they all jostle for timing positioning.
Pantone just announced its 2025 color and it’s Mocha Mousse (17-1230 on the Pantone system), which it describes as a “warming, rich brown hue.” While it seems to the outlier compared to some other predictions, Pantone had previously revealed some color finalists which included: Crocus, Pantone 16-3115; Lime Cream, Pantone 12-0312; Limpet Shell, Pantone 13-4810; White Grape, Pantone 14-0442; Kashmir, Pantone 17-6319; and Misted Marigold, Pantone 14-0757.
Pantone's color of the year is an important event in the design world, influencing trends in fashion, home decor, and other design industries, but now others are making their predictions too.
Here are some of the other color picks: Dutch Boy Paints named Mapped Blue, a medium blue-gray with subtle yellow undertones; HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams selected Quietude, in the blue-green-sage family; Minwax’s choice is Violet, a deep eggplant purple with red undertones; and C2 Paint’s pick is Raku, which was called a “chameleon color that shifts between burgundy and oxidized sanguine."
What’s fascinating is that most of these selections other than the Pantone top pick fall into the broader blue category, a consensus not usually seen from these competing forecasters. Time to get your brushes out for 2025.