Pantone’s Colour of the Year 2026, Cloud Dancer, reflects a growing desire for calm, softness and balance within our built environments. This gentle, airy neutral sits between warm and cool tones, offering a sense of lightness and quiet confidence that feels especially relevant in today’s workplaces. It is a colour that encourages pause, clarity and comfort, rather than visual noise.

For acoustic design, Cloud Dancer represents a move towards calm visual language that works hand in hand with sound control. Acoustic solutions are often large surface elements, so their colour plays a powerful role in how a space feels. Lighter, muted tones reduce visual distraction and contribute to environments that feel quieter overall, both acoustically and psychologically. When paired with effective sound absorption, they help create spaces that truly support concentration and comfort. 

In workplaces, education settings and shared environments, colours like Cloud Dancer encourage a more considered approach to design, where sound, colour and material work together. By choosing acoustic products in calming tones such as Cosset, designers can enhance both the sensory experience of a space and the wellbeing of the people using it. 

As design continues to prioritise mental health and comfort, Cloud Dancer feels less like a trend and more like a reflection of where interiors are heading. Calm, balanced spaces that sound good, feel good and support the people within them.