AkzoNobel’s Name True Joy Color of the Year 2025

True Joy has been named AkzoNobel’s Color of the Year for 2025. According to AkzoNobel’s color experts, the sunny yellow shade is on a mission to fill our homes with optimism, pride and a splash of vibrant color. 

Supported by three complementary color palettes, True Joy is the result of extensive research into color, design, cultural, economic and social trends, which identified a desire to make a joyful leap into the unknown, celebrate craftsmanship and embrace who we are. 

“In this rapidly changing world, it’s easy to feel uncertain about our next steps,” explained Heleen van Gent, creative director of AkzoNobel’s Global Aesthetic Center. “But change creates an opportunity for imagination; a chance to create something even better. With our new Color of the Year and ColourFutures 2025 palettes, we want to inspire consumers to celebrate their roots and creativity and embrace the optimism of moving forward in their homes and spaces.”

AkzoNobel’s Global Aesthetic Center has been translating trends into desirable colors for our homes for more than 30 years. Its annual ColourFutures trend forecast meeting brings together in-house experts, international architects, designers and journalists to share insights into how our reactions to the world around us impact our color choices. Junior designers and interns were also included for the first time this year, to ensure that consumers from the widest possible age range were represented in the influential Color of the Year decision-making process.

Their discussions led to three decorative paint color stories being designed around True Joy to help consumers find the right complementary colors to match their mood and design preferences. The Bold color story urges you to leave your comfort zone and inject adventure into your home with bright and uplifting colors, while the Human color story encourages you to bring creativity into your home by filling it with unique handmade pieces. The Proud color palette invites you to embrace your identity and have the confidence to create a home that’s just as unique as you are.

Apart from Deco brands, the on-trend colors, textures and special effects have been designed for other key markets and segments, including aerospace, automotive, consumer electronics, metal furniture, lighting, cabinetry, flooring, and building and architectural products. 

“Our Color of the Year shapes the direction of design globally,” said Jan-Piet van Kesteren, business unit director for Decorative Paints in Europe, Middle East and Africa. “We are leaders in color trend forecasting and True Joy will have an impact on choices made by architects, interior designers, product developers and our consumers who want and need to be ahead of market trends.”

Another first for the latest launch is the involvement of three online design influencers – Mauricio Arruda (Brazil), Ana Milena Hernandez Palacios (Spain) and Theo-Bert Pot (the Netherlands) – who are helping us to lift the lid on Team Joy, a call to embrace the power of yellow. Over the next few months, we’ll be sharing stills and videos to help consumers visualize how yellow can transform their homes.