True Joy – Dulux’s Colour of the Year 2025

Dulux’s Colour of the Year 2025 is an uplifting yellow called ‘True Joy’ (40YY 49/546), which focuses on brightening up our spaces, filling them with optimism, pride and imagination! The announcement also comes with three complementary colour stories that reflect current interior trends and the times we’re living in.

Commenting on the Colour of the Year, Heleen Van Gent, Creative Director, Global Aesthetic Centre AkzoNobel says, “It’s time to break free, welcome in the new and just leap! With our hero colour True Joy (40YY 49/546).

Welcome to our Colour of the Year 2025. An uplifting yellow that fills your homes and spaces with creativity, optimism, pride and imagination. A pop of colour that puts joy on your wall and brings a smile to your face. It’s created to inspire you to just leap out of your comfort zone, go for it and feel confident in doing so. If you dream it, you can create it.”

Whether it’s in your kitchen, bedroom or living space, Dulux’s Colour of the Year aims to uplift and inspire, whatever the environment.

True Joy, By Name & By Nature

Yellow is a colour that’s often associated with sunshine, warmth and happiness, so it’s no wonder that Dulux has made it their Colour of the Year 2025 to reflect the present times we live in. At STORI, we know that when using bright tones such as yellow in the home, it can bring a cheerful vibe to any room, whether it’s a soft, buttery yellow or a bold, vibrant shade.

This year Dulux has developed three colour palettes based around True Joy, with each palette having its own unique Colour Story of how it was created. A panel of trend forecasters, architects, designers and journalists shared observations about how life is impacting colour, from history of local cultures to AI and how uncertainty and change can mean an opportunity to create something better, all of which translated into new trends and the colour of the year was therefore born.

True Joy – Dulux’s Colour of the Year 2025

A Bold Colour Story

The first trend that was discussed among industry experts focused on making a joyful leap into the unknown and travelling out of your comfort zone.

Sem Devillart, Professor for Cultural Analysis, School of Visual Arts NYC said, “We’ve been a long time in a bubble, so breaking the bubble is also an awareness that oh there are actually other bubbles, there are actually other worlds, it’s not just my little world that I’ve been confined in.”

This is what inspired ‘A Bold Colour Story’, a striking palette that’s made up of bright blues and oranges in contrast with Dulux’s accent yellow. Bold and uplifting, this palette is designed to enlighten everyday spaces in our homes with the excitement of adventure and brings about spontaneity and energy through the use of bold colours.

To complement True Joy, pair it with Antique Red, Willow or Marine from our paint palette to bring a sense of inspiration, creativity and imagination to any space.

A Human Colour Story

The second trend concentrated on celebrating handmade elements and craftsmanship.

Claudia Lieshout, Strategic Futurist and Design Researcher, StudioClau said, “AI generated content generates into other generated content as well, so that fake and reality become even more difficult to recognise.”

This idea is what led to Dulux’s ‘A Human Colour Story’, which is a palette that promotes feeling grounded and connected by bringing creativity into our homes through artisanal touches. By incorporating natural and neutral colours such as browns and greys into this palette alongside yellow, it complements the shades of wood and clay that features in the raw materials used in handmade artisan products such as furniture and other interior fittings.

We’ve complemented True Joy with Light Grey, Cashmere and Lava from our paint palette to create a calming, neutral and natural colour scheme that will enhance the beauty of artisanal crafts.

A Proud Colour Story

The third and final trend explored, revolved around embracing who we are, including our unique identities and roots.

Adriana Pedrosa, Surface & Colour Designer, Atelier de Pinturas said, “The time is now to evolve. Giving voice to our deepest identities.”

This concept shaped ‘A Proud Colour Story’, which is a palette that encourages feeling proud of all that we are and what defines us, through creating homes that are as unique as our personalities, with rich layers of diverse, individual influences.

Taking inspiration from local cultures around the world, this colour palette has everything from oranges and reds to blues, greens and browns that are centred around True Joy. These proud colours offer a diverse palette which aims to celebrate our rich heritage that makes each of us unique, without any limitations.

We’ve paired True Joy with Airforce, Heritage Green and Slate Blue from our paint palette to complement the darker tonal groups in the palette which can work in harmony to create a unique space with a pop of colour.

Feel inspired? We’d love to hear about your yellow-themed ideas in person at one of our approved independent retailer showrooms across the UK & Ireland. Book A Design Appointment with one of our approved retailers, and begin your design journey today!