Avient Corporation, a leading provider of specialized and sustainable material solutions and services, today releases ColorForward 2025, the 19th edition of its color trend forecast, to inspire brand owners and designers of plastic products.
ColorForward is an annual guide that includes 20 colors and effects derived from societal trends likely to influence consumer color preferences and the design of consumer products in the future. Each trend consists of 5 colors and effects representing the trend’s different facets, which can be complementary or contradictory. These colors are paired with the latest effects, resins, and additives to create a well-rounded, inspiring Color, Material, Finish (CMF) forecast. The process of identifying the global trend stories and color selections is carried out by a group of color, marketing, and social trend experts during a week-long workshop.
“Maybe it’s just a coincidence that the workshop took place in Chicago this year, a city that regularly deals with extreme weather, but it fits with the core message of this year’s trend stories of resiliency,” said Stephanie Dycha, Senior Manager, Head of ColorWorks U.S. and Canada at Avient. “There is an underlying feeling of resiliency and pursuit of endurance that can inspire people to face large-scale changes, challenges, and crises with a positive attitude.”
The ColorForward 2025 color palette
The Easy Peasy trend is driven by the increased demand from consumers and governments for repairable products, pushing manufacturers to think about repairability and modularity when designing consumer products.
The Elevens trend pronounces large-scale changes in several areas, from demographics and global economies to consumer power and quality of life for everyone. The name was chosen because the number 11 is symbolically linked to transformation and changes.
As a continuation of last year’s trend called Anything else??!, this year’s trend, Destination Salvation, is focused on finding ways to prepare, as an individual or an entity, for the next major crisis, with ideas spanning from bunkering to escaping into space.
Reflecting on the balance between human longevity and legacy, the Carpe Mortem trend echoes the radical ways humans attempt to tap into the fountain of youth - from the search for immortality within a virtual existence to the thoughtfulness of understanding our carbon footprint even after we are gone. It highlights how different countries and cultures focus on celebrations of life and how the relationship between our longevity and our legacy will define us far into the future.
“While the 2024 palette was mostly balanced with colors evenly distributed across the color spectrum, the 2025 palette predominantly features mid-tone blues, greens, oranges, neutrals, and no yellow,” said Roberto Romanin, Designer at ColorWorks Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) at Avient. “This more subdued color palette includes some dramatic effects such as copper undertones and material choices that represent the gravity of the challenges we will face. Some moderately brighter colors underline optimism despite the gravity, with both palettes encompassing the feeling of resiliency we see emerging.”
Avient offers ColorForward seminars at its four ColorWorks design and technology centers worldwide and selected conferences and customer sites. Those interested in learning more about the 2025 trends and color palettes can do so by visiting the ColorForward 2025 website.
