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On Dec. 4, Pantone announced its 2026 Color of the Year: Cloud Dancer (PANTONE 11-4201)

The company said the hue symbolizes "a calming influence in a society rediscovering the value of quiet reflection"

The shade has sparked an online debate, with many claiming it shows a lack of creativity and cultural insensitivity

Pantone has chosen its 2026 Color of the Year — and it's sparked quite the online debate.

On Dec. 4, the global color authority introduced the defining shade of the year to come: Cloud Dancer (PANTONE 11-4201), which they described on Instagram as a "lofty white neutral whose aerated presence acts as a whisper of calm and peace in a noisy world."

The company's vice president, Laurie Pressman, said in a 2023 interview that the Color of the Year initia

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