Paint color trends: Mankiewicz "Colors of the Year 2025"

The new color trends for 2025 were researched by the designers at paint manufacturer Mankiewicz. This time, the paint trend colors "Colors of the Year" were chosen in the shades Homecoming, Balance and Pulse.

The world is currently experiencing significant changes and challenging times. This is also reflected in the new Colors of the Year that Mankiewicz has launched for 2025. What does this annual color selection mean? It doesn't mean buying the next pair of shoes in apricot or the curtains in mint after the freshly announced color of the year. Nor is the aim an immediate implementation in the industry. It's more about a kind of flirtation with the zeitgeist. Colors of the Year are always topical; they are intended to inspire, be fun or make people think. Those who publish Colors of the Year contribute to a lively, public conversation about trends. And sometimes they also ensure that new colors find their way into the design of new products and interiors.

In the case of paints, the design of the surface, such as gloss level, structure and feel, is added to the color tone. This makes it a little more exciting, but certainly not easier. The Mankiewicz design team visited various international trade fairs this year and, after much research and discussion, decided on "Homecoming", "Balance" and "Pulse".

Homecoming means returning home. What constitutes homecoming is something that is currently experiencing a new appreciation in many regions of the world: a return to the familiar from a personal or cultural context. It is about capturing the radiance of the known and familiar and quoting this "treasure" in form or color. In this way, a newly designed product can also convey a feeling of warmth and identity. This can be a new sofa, for example, that picks up on old, familiar shapes, or the good feeling when traditional material is used for a modern building.

The green tone of "Homecoming" is a kind of time traveler that has left its mark in neoclassicism, Art Nouveau and the seventies, for example. Now it's back, talking about old times, and that's why it looks so familiar. The fine tinsel in the lacquer surface of "Homecoming" is reminiscent of the shimmer of velvet or a hand-glazed tile.

The current times are brimming with challenges. The call for sustainability has established itself as a permanent theme, regularly refreshed by natural events that get completely out of hand. A balance is being sought between what the world can be expected to bear and what people need to live. The topic of sustainable materials is and remains highly topical and an urgent ongoing task for industry and design. In addition to the sustainability of materials, there is another important aspect: durability. And not as a physical property, but as an emotional one. Which products and materials do we like to surround ourselves with for many years? What ages well? Color palettes with timeless, calm, less fashionable colors dominate here.

What is also striking is the increasing trend towards purist, "honest" materials such as wool, hemp or clay, coarse fabrics or wickerwork. They bring calm and simplicity to the design concepts. "Balance" shows a fine structure in a warm, light wool tone. On the one hand, this effect functions as a visually and haptically pleasant, extremely fine surface, while on the other hand "Balance" can also interact excellently with the very striking materials mentioned above or mediate between them.

Red is a color with an extremely strong character. From the clown's nose to the indispensable role in horror films to great elegance - you can rely on red when it comes to making a strong impression.

Pulse" also gives its all in this respect: the fine, matt effect and the slightly gloomy red nuance give it a mysterious drama. The strong flop creates clear light-dark contrasts and the shade could tell stories of distant worlds. However, when light falls on the shade, it appears to glow a soft golden red from within. This creates the impression that something warm, almost poetic is taking place beneath the surface. The duality makes the hue exciting, because the surreal mixture fits in with the current times: on the one hand, the world is currently undergoing dramatic change, while on the other, the hope for better times remains indestructible. (OM-11/24)