Pantone Mocha Mousse

Each year, designers the world over wait with bated breath for the announcement of the Pantone Color of the Year. I still wonder how one color can set the tone for the following 12 months, yet this seems to be the world we’re living in!

This year, the 2025 Pantone Color of the Year is…….🥁🥁🥁… Mocha Mousse.

Yes, it’s sounds delicious (and now I feel like devouring a calorie-ladened dessert) but as a color, personally I find it a bit bland.

Here’s what Pantone say about their choice pick for the year…

Underpinned by our desire for every day pleasures, PANTONE 17-1230 Mocha Mousse expresses a level of thoughtful indulgence. Sophisticated and lush, yet at the same time an unpretentious classic, PANTONE 17-1230 Mocha Mousse extends our perceptions of the browns from being humble and grounded to embrace aspirational and luxe.

Leatrice Eiseman (Executive Director Pantone Color Institute) https://www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year/2025

2025 Pantone Color of the Year HEX Code

PANTONE 17-1230 Mocha Mousse
#a47764

While it would be a difficult color to work with as the main, or primary colour in your brand palette, it could definitely be used well as an accent or secondary color, especially if your brand embodies the values mentioned by Pantone, such as luxe, sophistication, lush and indulgence.

Obviously, you’re not going to go and change your brand colors based on Pantone’s annual announcement, but if you do decide to use it in your newly developing brand identity palette, it’s important to keep accessibility in mind. A bland and mid-range color like Mocha Mousse may make it difficult for people with low or impaired vision to read your marketing message. And with approximately 20% of the population living with vision impairment of various kids, it’s in everyone’s best interests to create marketing material and social media graphics that are easy to read.

Here’s my tips for using the 2025 Pantone Colour of the Year with accessibility in mind.

Colour contrast

High colour contrast between text and the background is very important for brand design accessibility. Think dark coloured text on light backgrounds, or light coloured text on very dark backgrounds. A neutral colour like Mocha Mousse is a tone that sits very mid-range so the contrast between it and black, or it and white, isn’t as high.

If you’re using Mocha Mousse as your text colour, a white or black background would work best to give the most contrast. If you’re using Mocha Mouse as your background colour, white text would give the most contrast.

Font choices

Your choice of fonts will also affect how legible your marketing message will be. Unlike bold colors like reds or blues, Mocha Mouse is quite neutral so that leaves the fonts to do all the heavy lifting when it comes to accessibility.

Avoid script fonts and very thin serif fonts and try and use mid-weight sans serif fonts as they will be the most easiest to read.