Culture & Travel

Your Interiors Will Love The Colour and Design Predictions By Asian Paints’ ColourNext Forecast for 2025

From ‘Cardinal’ to ‘Bad Taste?’ and ‘Salt’, the range is eclectic.

ByTeam The Word.

Asian Paints’ ColourNext Forecast for 2025 has declared ‘Cardinal’ as the Colour of the Year. Seen here, Le Club armchair – Poliform (Mumbai).

Home and design aficionados have reason to rejoice, for the much-awaited colour and design forecast for the year has been unveiled by Asian Paints ColourNext. A canvas of hues, the 22nd edition of their Colour and Material Intelligence forecast is wonderfully varied and philosophical at once, capturing the zeitgeist with its ode to individuality and humanity.

Now some may wonder how a colour for the year is chosen—an important question, we agree. Since 2003, Asian Paints’ ColourNext has been devoting extensive research to this and has even collaborated with leading institutions and industry experts across architecture, art, interior design, fashion, sociology, media, and FMCG. A mix of core group discussions, , interviews, workshops, rigorous research methodologies and colour psychology principles are used to arrive at a set of design directions that will be at the forefront in the coming the year. Each story is then mapped to keywords, emotions, colours and material qualities to arrive at the final forecast and one colour that represents the overarching story of the year. It’s no wonder, then, that ColourNext is recognised as the subcontinent’s foremost authority on colour and material intelligence.

This 2025, the Colour of the Year, ‘Cardinal’ is a dusky shade of purple that represents the complexity of being human—. For what is more fundamental to our core than our desire for deeper connections, with ourselves, our emotions, and the world around us? There is a warm undertone to the cool hue, evoking the comfort of nostalgia while reminding you to be mindful about the present, and urging you to be bold about the future. Turn to this rich shade to enliven your interiors, fashion sense, or design language, while channeling the spirit of both the personal and powerful. At its core is beauty in raw, unfiltered authenticity…Cardinal encourages you to embrace the spectrum of your feelings—from joy and vitality to stillness and contemplation. It is a reminder to feel everything without judgement.

The Wallpaper of the Year is a poetic expression of nature’s quiet elegance while celebrating the power of time-honoured art practices—‘Spring Tune’. This timeless, visual symphony is inspired by the serene corners of an ancient Indian courtyard, with the pattern of delicate stems and patient petals rising from attar bottles. This is visual poetry, and as you admire the design, you may even notice that beneath the branches, the air hums with possibilities, time slows down, and you are invited to simply be. Each blossom whispers a story of stillness and grace, and in this peaceful wallpaper, aesthetics and nostalgia blend in perfect harmony.

Along with these major predictions, Asian Paints ColourNext 2025 has also released four design directions, and their names are just as exciting as their appeal. Echoing our brave return to the visceral, tactile, emotional, and immersive, ‘Feel More’ questions the status quo, be it in thought, design, or even relationships. Identity holds a vantage point here, and our complex layers and colourful details are happily celebrated. This design is for the self-assured who revel in their individualism and, even their absurdities.

Taking this a notch up is ‘Bad Taste?’ that is bold and rebellious in the wake of traditional elegance and quiet luxury. The outré is now the norm; excess is luxury. This design direction is a joyous ode to colour, flamboyance, and unapologetic self expression. Far from muted palettes and understated designs, ‘Bad Taste?’ invites you to experiment, almost with childlike abandon, and mix-and-match colours, patterns, and accents. Underlying this vibrant theme is the intention of inclusivity…every person and each aesthetic is welcome.

In contrast, ‘Salt’ draws our attention to the materiality of the mineral as well as its inherent gift to humanity. Boasting crystalline beauty and delicate strength, and carrying the story of a millennia, this abundant, natural resource emerges as an emblem of possibility. And in doing so, ‘Salt’ serves as a reminder that the simplest of materials—or gestures, actions, or words—can inspire awe and wonder. This forecast palette captures the shimmer of the crystals in milky tones with a surprising blue from Iranian salt.

And, finally, there is ‘India Everywhere’ that reflects our modern Indian identities—respectful of tradition yet global in thought. Far from the weight of narrow craft narratives, this design direction reimagines our heritage and craft legacies rather than over-explaining them. A sophisticated and colour-confident palette, here we see high contrast and unlikely juxtapositions.

Speaking about this wide range presented by ColourNext 2025, Amit Syngle, Managing Director and CEO of Asian Paints Ltd., shares, “For over two decades, ColourNext has been a pioneer in decoding India’s evolving design landscape, providing a definitive direction for colour and material innovations through rigorous research and analysis.”

All images: Courtesy Instagram

Your Interiors Will Love The Colour and Design Predictions By Asian Paints’ ColourNext Forecast for 2025

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