PANTONE Colour of the Year 2026

In November, we wrote about the opportunity to submit your pick for this year's Pantone Colour of the Year. Unexpectedly for us, for the first time ever, the shade of white was chosen. In fact, the 2026 Color of the Year was PANTONE 11-4201 Cloud Dancer, a soft, calm white that emphasizes light, purity and timelessness.

At first glance, Cloud Dancer may seem inconspicuous. But that's where its power lies. It's not a colour that dominates, but a shade that gives space to material, shape and technology. This is why this selection is of particular importance to the glass industry.

In the glass industry, Cloud Dancer represents a very close relationship to the natural properties of glass. The shade is reminiscent of optical white, milky glass and subtly diffused surfaces that work with light instead of bold colour. In such a tone , the quality of the fusion, the purity of the raw material and the precision of the workmanship stand out.

For manufacturing companies, this shade is a symbol of craftsmanship and technological maturity. Any variations are immediately apparent in the light and neutral tones, making Cloud Dancer a colour that places high demands on the entire production process.

As it has become a tradition with us, this time too we have been inspired by this trend and in our laboratory we have prepared an organic and inorganic (ceramic) colour inspired by this colour of the year.

On this occasion, we also asked our head of the laboratory, Alžběta Vašků, how the process of transferring such a shade into glassware recipes works.

You can read the full interview below.

Alžběta Vašků, Head of Laboratory

Betty, the Pantone colour of the year always attracts attention. What did the decision to translate this shade into glass formulas mean to you in the lab?

We've been regularly preparing the colour of the year for several years now, so it's become a bit of a routine for us.

What's the main difference between the "paper" Pantone shade and its actual behaviour on glass? What did you have to take into account the most?

In general, glass, as a noble material, influences the perception of applied colours. Our goal in development is always to get as close to the given standards as possible with our formulations. For some types of colours and applications this is easier, for others it is more difficult.

Was this year's colour of the year more of a challenge in terms of development or a pleasant routine? What made it special?

Anyone who works with colour knows that there is no such thing as white. The nice thing is that this year's colour of the year can also be prepared from inorganic materials (including ceramic paints), which has not always been possible. For example Mocha Mousse, which was chosen last year, we could only prepare from organic paints.

For how many types of paints or technologies were you able to successfully mix the 2026 colour of the year?

We always create formulas for the most used paint types first. For beverage, decorative and packaging glass, these are primarily the HGC 8, HGC 3, but also HGC 6 series. For toughened flat glass, we have a recipe for the print side and extra clear glass. For glassmakers who make painted glass we have a recipe from the AQ2 series. Other less frequented colour ranges can be tuned in case of specific interest.

Does it happen that the same shade looks great in the lab but behaves differently in real production? How do you prevent this?

This is common with tempered glass paints, for example, where the method of paint application, the paint layer applied, the glass used (type and brand) and the tempering process itself all affect the result. Therefore, we are always ready to create modified versions of the recipes if necessary.

Are you as inspired by Cloud Dancer as we are, or have you missed out on a shade from previous years for organic water-based paints? Never mind, drop us a line and if we don't have that shade yet, we'll try to develop it for you in our lab .

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