Creating colors that go beyond the aesthetic and create a mood is the inspiration behind AkzoNobel’s 2026 Color of the Year, comprising not one but three hero shades of Interpon powder coatings to imagine working and living spaces that allow us to stop, reflect, and rediscover our natural rhythm.

The trilogy of indigo blues each leads its own distinct and complementary palette to transform exteriors, interiors, lighting, furniture, and furnishings across a wide range of sectors with their own unique sense of calm.

Noir 2000 Sable Dark Blue anchors Serenity, a palette filled with wintery, earthy tones that create contemplative and restorative spaces. This palette works particularly well in offices or healthcare settings where people require respite from visual noise and stress.

Airy blue Brisbane Sable leads Fluidity, an earthy and warm palette for connected spaces. These natural brick and terracotta shades come together to cultivate harmonious spaces – designed to bring comfort to residential and hospitality settings.

Liberty is led by Baku Fine Texture. This palette combines a series of energetic shades to deliver a youthful, liberating atmosphere that is ideal for education or workplace environments where the imagination needs to be stimulated, and ideas nurtured.

“Color is so much more than an aesthetic, it is an essential tool to cultivate the energy of a space,” Bob Dirks, global segment manager Architectural AkzoNobel Powder Coatings, says. “Whether people need to be invigorated and energized, or relaxed and reflective, color palettes are influential in how we feel in any environment.

“With 12 colors to choose from, mixing darker shades with lighter neutrals, these palettes offer architects and designers the opportunity to curate distinct moods in the spaces that they design that will offer a positive energy for years to come.”