Tranquil Dawn was unveiled as AkzoNobel’s Color of the Year for 2020.

The culmination of extensive trend research by experts around the world, it’s designed to capture the essence of what makes us human, as the dawn of a new decade arrives.

A delicate, fluid shade somewhere between green, blue and grey, Tranquil Dawn features in all four of the accompanying color palettes. They are used throughout the company’s paints and coatings businesses to inspire customers and make the task of choosing color easier.

Color experts from the company’s Wood Coatings business were heavily involved and worked closely with AkzoNobel’s global color and design team to develop on-trend selections for customers in various paints and coatings markets. One of the main areas of focus was translating the four related color palettes for wood customers to use with specific products. The four Wood Coatings palettes are called Upcycle, Hybrid, Classical and Evolve.

“A unified color and trend development process across AkzoNobel definitely helps us to successfully launch and leverage our own stories of trending color in the markets we serve,” said Rob Haley, Color Trends manager for the company’s Wood Coatings business. “We are able to use the Color of the Year and the accompanying palettes across all the wood segments of furniture, flooring, cabinetry and building products.”
 
“Tranquil Dawn perfectly captures the 2020 mood of what makes us human,” added Heleen van Gent, head of AkzoNobel’s Global Aesthetic Center, which leads the annual trend research. “It’s reminiscent of the colors of the morning sky and encapsulates our desire to treasure our most human qualities, which we’ll need in the new decade we are entering. It’s an exciting and inspiring way for us to share our passion for paint with the world.”

Working with colors for wooden furniture, cabinets and flooring is an art which requires careful attention. Because unlike a wall paint – which usually involves applying color to a white surface to get a 100 percent match – a wood coating can also be applied to play and blend with its substrate. So the Wood Coatings business took the Color of the Year and its four accompanying palettes and carefully crafted different finishes for different products.

“Getting our customers excited about color and the latest trends is all part of what we do as a company that loves color, based on centuries of experience and expertise,” Haley said. “The latest generation of new homeowners and designers are looking for dynamic new trends, such as mixing old objects with non-traditional colors, or mixing different styles. We want to empower them to express their personality and help transform their living spaces and working environments.”