Colours Beyond 2027+

Three colour areas. Three ways of seeing tomorrow.

Colours Beyond 2027+ is developed together with the NCS Forecast Council, an international group of CMF and design experts. Through their global research, a clear conclusion emerged: our colour preferences are shifting, not toward individual tones but toward three distinct ways of shaping atmosphere.

These findings are expressed as three colour areas. Each colour area reflects a key movement in how colour will influence the spaces we live and work in, defined through hue and nuance within the NCS System. Together they offer a new way of understanding colour at a time when clarity, tactility and cultural expression are becoming increasingly important in design. Explore how colour can bring calm, depth and meaning to interiors in the years ahead.

Dull Pale
Warm, powdery mid-tones with gentle chromatic presence. Dull Pale colours introduce expressive softness and refined ornamentation.
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Pale
Light, low-chroma hues that create calm and clarity. Pale colours bring presence without intensity, softening light and allowing materials to breathe.
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Dark
Deeper, muted hues that carry material weight. These colours absorb light, enhance texture and create tactile, grounding atmospheres.
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The architecture of the colour areas

The colours identified in Colours Beyond 2027+ have been analysed and mapped though the NCS system. Across all regions and disciplines, the NCS Forecast Council identified a clear shift in how we want our spaces to feel in 2027+. Three dominant moods appear consistently.

These moods are translated into three Colour Areas, each defined by a distinct cluster of hues and nuances that we repeatedly want to see across surfaces, materials and light. Together, the Colour Areas form a structured framework for understanding how colour shapes atmosphere in the spaces we live and work in.

The three Colour Areas are positioned within the NCS Colour Circle and the NCS Colour Triangle, showing how each area is defined by its hue direction and nuance structure. This positioning forms the foundation for the colour expressions that will shape our future environments.

From each identified Colour Area, three 60–30–10 combinations are developed. The Colour Area defines the underlying logic and mood direction; the combinations show how this logic can be translated into interiors, materials and product contexts. Together, they demonstrate how atmosphere is created through proportion, nuance and use, rather than through single colours in isolation.

Work with the colours of tomorrow

NCS+ lets you explore the 2027+ colours, test combinations and export NCS notations directly into your workflow. Ideal for architects, designers and CMF professionals.