Pantone Color of the Year: What it Means for Design in 2025

As Russian abstract painter Wassily Kandisky said, “Color is a power which directly influences the soul.”

Pantone understands this.

Founded in the 1950s, Pantone has led the color-matching industry for over 70 years. Commonly used in graphic, fashion, and product design, Pantone’s Matching System allows designers to match specific colors during production, to an exact.

As of 2019, Pantone had more than 2,100 colors in their color library. Annually since 2000, after an extensive process, a “Color of the Year” is selected. How exactly do they go about choosing a seemingly random color, you ask?

Twice a year, Pantone hosts secret meetings with representatives from multiple different countries’ color standard groups in an undisclosed European capital city. After two days of presentations and discussions, the group will decide on a color for the upcoming year. Typically their decision making revolves around the cultural climate of the world, reflecting global trends with the purpose of sparking expression and inspiration.

Believe it or not, the Color of the Year holds more weight in society than you may choose to believe. Once the results of the meeting are released and the color is made public, leading fashion designers, florists, and design & manufacturing companies literally use it to help guide their designs and products for the upcoming year – no joke.

For example, in 2024, Pantone’s “Color of the Year” was Peach Fuzz. The reasoning? “We chose a color radiant with warmth and modern elegance,” stated Leatrice Eiseman, the Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute. “It’s a shade that resonates with compassion, offers a tactile embrace, and effortlessly bridges the youthful with the timeless.” Now think about where you saw the color pop up over the year…

Crew-neck sweaters, leather shoes, Stanley cups, top-of-the-line makeup kits, plush couches, you name it. Don’t believe me? Type “Pantone Color of the Year” products into google and see for yourself.

So what’s the big deal with brands capitalizing on something as seemingly simple as a shade of color?

Easy. Whether we recognize it or not, a color can express an emotion and a feeling. In the simplest of hypotheticals, if you’re exposed to the darkest colors in your daily life, you’ll probably feel different than being exposed to bright, cheery colors. What emotions do you feel when you think of the color gunmetal? And then what do you feel when you see something like peach fuzz?

In terms of branding, think about it like this: colors are universal. There is no language barrier or culture barrier. They are ubiquitous, they are everywhere and on every single thing – and choosing a specific color to hone in on as a brand and shape an image around a product or line, that’s a huge decision – yet with the sway and influence Pantone’s decision making has on various industries, it’s smart to tune into the trends that follow.

A clear-cut example of Pantone’s influence is with its 2012 Color of the Year, Tangerine Tango. After setting up a collaboration with Sephora, a product line was put out, titled the “Sephora + Pantone Universe collection”. Cream, glitters, lashes, lip-gloss, and more all hit the shelves, and in effect, were incredibly popular and trendy throughout the year.

For 2025, Pantone’s winner is Mocha Mousse. Laurie Pressman, Executive Director of Pantone’s Color Institute, had this to say on the selection: “Underpinned by our desire for everyday pleasures, PANTONE 17-1230 Mocha Mousse expresses a level of thoughtful indulgence. Sophisticated and lush, yet at the same time an unpretentious classic, PANTONE 17-1230 Mocha Mousse extends our perceptions of the browns from being humble and grounded to embrace aspiration and luxe.”

Since the announcement, Pantone has partnered with Motorola in making Mocha Mousse colored cell-phones, with Joybird for home furniture, and with Libratone for bluetooth earbuds. Keep your eyes peeled for earthy browns to lead the way in the new year.

Thoughtful Indulgence. Harmonious Comfort. Feelings of Contentment. All things in which Mocha Mousse embodies. All things in which we yearn for in 2025.