The Pantone Color Institute has officially unveiled its 2026 Color of the Year.

Pantone's 2026 Color of the Year, Cloud Dancer, has stirred up an online debate. Here's everything to know about the controversy surrounding Pantone's 2026 Color of the Year.

Pantone says the color is calming and relaxing. Critics say it's a reflection of the current political climate.

Pantone’s 2026 color of the year is historic and, technically, not a color at all — meet Cloud Dancer, the first-ever white shade to receive the designation from the world’s color authority.

With the new year just weeks away, the color experts at Pantone have declared 2026’s official Color of the Year is “Cloud Dancer.” Cloud Dancer is “a billowy, balanced white imbued with a feeling of serenity,” a color that’s designed to both soothe us and inspire us to make a fresh new start, the company said Dec. 4.

A popular option a couple of decades ago, this common granite countertop color will be going to the wayside in 2026 as more updated styles take over.

At 96, Lawrence Herbert, "THE KING OF COLOR," revolutionized color with the Pantone Matching System, creating a universal language for color that transformed art and industry. Growing up in Depression-era Brooklyn,