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At the end of every year, we are flooded with all these different lists and wrap-ups: Spotify Wrapped, the Williams-Sonoma catalog, or (one my favorites) Drew Magary’s Hater’s Guide to The Williams-Sonoma Catalog. Not to be outdone, Pantone also releases its Color of the Year for the coming year—and 2025 has been proclaimed the year of Mocha Mousse.
While this is all fun and gives us something to talk about at various holiday parties, it is interesting to think about what Pantone’s choice can mean concerning our collective mindset and cultural outlook. While “Mocha Mousse” is a tasty dessert or a pretty name for a concealer/lipstick shade, Pantone is ultimately stating that the color for 2025 is…brown. It’s an elegant and warm shade of brown (certainly), but it is still brown. When the past three Colors of the Year were “Peach Fuzz,” “Viva Magenta,” and “Very Peri” (i.e., periwinkle blue-violet), what does it say about us that 2025 will be the year of brown?
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| Source: Pantone |
Theorizing About Color Theory
A quick primer on color theory: We have our primary colors (red, yellow, blue), secondary colors created by combining primary colors (orange, green, purple), and then tertiary colors created by combining primary and secondary colors (e.g., red-orange, yellow-green, blue-violet). These can then be separated into warm colors (generally shades of red, orange, and yellow) and cool colors (blues, greens, purples).
These colors are also sometimes referred to as “hues.” Beyond colors/hues, there are other words that often get used when talking about color theory. “Tint” implies that white is added to a hue, creating pastels or even hues we’ve come to see as separate colors like pink. “Shades” are made by adding black to a hue, darkening the color. Using red as an example again, this would create a hue we could call “burgundy” or “maroon”. “Tone” adds gray to a color, essentially reducing its saturation and intensity (making a toned red something we could name “brick”).
All of this can affect our perception of the color and create cultural touchstones that transform “color theory” into “color psychology.” Generally speaking, warm colors are associated with energy, brightness, and action, while cool colors are seen as peaceful and calm. Pale colors have a child-like, youthful quality to them. Darker tones could be dangerous, sinister, or serious. These associations also shift across cultural boundaries. While black is often associated with funerals and somberness in the West, mourners in many Eastern cultures wear white.
There are also multiple studies that have been done suggesting we have mental associations that can affect the efficacy of pills based on their color, the benefits to our health based on wall paint in community spaces, and even the effects of colors on our bodies at a cellular level. This means that while many people can go through life without even thinking about the hues surrounding them, the effects these colors can have on their mental and physical selves is something worth considering.
Looking Back at Colors of the Year
So, what does this mean for past Pantone Colors of the Year and why does it matter that 2025 is brown? We first need to remember that these colors are announced the year prior—giving our mindset for what we expect the next year to hold.
Brown is often associated with ruggedness, stability, seriousness, as well as having some natural connotations. Considering our current sociopolitical climate and concerns about climate change, it makes sense that we would pick a more serious, conservative hue with subtle ties to the earth for what we expect 2025 to be like. It is also important to note that Mocha Mousse is also a warm tint of brown, offering a sense of hopefulness and energy that 2025 might not be so bad.
In her reasoning for why the color was chosen, Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute Leatrice Eiseman said, “Mocha Mousse expresses a level of thoughtful indulgence. Sophisticated and lush, yet at the same time an unpretentious classic, Mocha Mousse extends our perceptions of the browns from being humble and grounded to embrace aspirational and luxe.” Perhaps this sense of luxury could scratch an itch for finery when many economists across the political spectrum are concerned about our economy next year with the looming threats of tariffs and general upheaval.
It is also worth noting that Mocha Mousse is a striking difference compared to the Colors of the Year that precede it. In 2024, it was the year of Peach Fuzz, a pale hue of orange with a lot of warmth to it (suggesting happiness, enthusiasm, and even a sense of optimism). Before that was a ruddy pink called Viva Magenta in 2023 (sophistication, romance, creativity) as well as Very Peri in 2022 (elegance, aspiration, spirituality).
These colors seem to be bookended by the years close to the COVID-19 pandemic. 2021 was a schizoid year of Illuminating (a vibrant yellow that symbolizes cheer as much as caution) and Ultimate Gray (a pale ash gray that can symbolize sophistication and practicality in equal measure). The year 2020’s Color of the Year was Classic Blue, a darker shade suggesting a somber sense of trust, authority, dependability, and strength—things we could all use during the pandemic.
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| Source: Pantone |
Keypoint Intelligence Opinion
It’s important to remember that color psychology isn’t an exact science. While there is validity to color therapy for some matters (mostly mental health and psychiatry), studies are still being done on the effects of hues on our physical selves.
That said, Pantone’s Color of the Year does have a real effect on our lives. Exploring the launch page for Mocha Mousse, there is a list of artists and companies that are promoting this color in their work. You can purchase a Mocha Mousse Motorola Razr phone, furniture and fabrics, cashmere clothing, and even Post-It notes. These items will be sought out for their sense of luxury among the masses in the same way design and print nerds will be buying the limited-edition Mocha Mousse mug to add to their growing Color of the Year collection. (It feels very much like Meryl Streep’s character in The Devil Wears Prada explaining how a particular shade of blue trickles down from high fashion houses to the general public.)
It'll be interesting to see how close the color psychology and symbolism that Pantone has chosen for 2025 will be to the actual year ahead. While there’s little doubt we’ll see a return to conservatism and ruggedness, there’s hope that we’ll also have a year of stability, reliability, friendship, a return to nature, and a little of Eiseman’s thoughtful indulgence.
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