Marketing Disguised As Meaning

Senior Correspondent Victoria Thomas* from Local News Pasadena asked me for my thoughts about the controversial selection of Cloud Dancer as Pantone’s Color of the Year in 2025. Here was my response:

The idea that this color represents mindfulness, a quiet day, or a visual breath makes me raise one eyebrow. I don’t see it as theoretical, symbolic, or remotely romantic. It is marketing. And that is fine.

Pantone’s previous market was graphic design professionals and offset lithography printers specifying custom ink on paper. Who does that anymore? Pantone is now looking for relevance in thriving industries such as fashion, luxury home goods, textiles, and ceramics. I see Cloud Dancer less like a spiritual awakening and more like an ironic homage to plain paper. 

Creative professionals have not purchased Pantone’s expensive formula guides for many years. Those guides were also notably short on subtle whites and light pastels. The last edition that included these subtle tones, titled Pantone Pastel Formula Guide, dates back to the early 2000s and sold for around $69. Cloud Dancer is a new color and was never included in any previous guides. To specify it correctly now, you need to buy new formula guides, priced between $230 and $450.

Consider it a premium experience in restraint.

*Her full article can be seen here.