Recently, Pantone announced their Color of the Year, an annual choice that often influences fashion, design, and color trends. This year, they chose Cloud Dancer, a soft shade of white.

My immediate reaction was, really??

White?? A white palette felt bland and completely bored me. Hearing it framed with broader cultural and political associations genuinely angered me. I was annoyed that somewhere, a boardroom full of seemingly intelligent people sat around talking about what’s happening in global culture right now, and all they could come up with was off-white. Seeing a tone that is essentially the absence of color elevated as the color of the moment was, honestly, irritating.