Dulux Trade has unveiled The Rhythm of Blues as its Colours of the Year 2026. It’s the first time that the world-famous brand has selected a suite of colours rather than a single shade for its annual reveal. The three colours Free Groove™, Mellow Flow™, and Slow Swing™ are all shades of indigo blue, each with its own unique quality, from meditative to airy to uplifting.

Accompanying the launch is The ColourFutures™ 2026 International Colour Trends Guide

The guide, available for download below, provides insight into the trend forecasting process behind Dulux Trade Colours of the Year 2026, along with expert guidance on using these colours in commercial settings.

Discover The Rhythm of Blues

3 palettes for contemporary commercial spaces

This inspirational colour family offers a broader colour choice. Each of the three hero blues has its own supporting palette, including the perfect, complementary white. It gives specifiers and commercial designers the flexibility to create multiple expressions of energy, mood and pace in interior and exterior settings across any sector, using versatile, easy-to-apply colour combinations.

Specifiers visiting the new hub will find a library of resources covering eight specific sectors, including education, healthcare, retail and more. This includes downloadable guides authored by Dulux Trade, offering best practice advice and design principles for the sector you’re working in.

Explore the palettes

A sense of calm and connection in any space

With the hero blues and new palettes, Dulux Trade aims to help specifiers and designers create commercial spaces that flow with positive energy. While each colour story can work in any sector, Dulux Trade has mapped each one to the sector it most resonates with. A ‘Free’ colour story for Education and Office spaces, for example, and a ‘Flow’ colour story for Hospitality and Residential spaces.

Get sector-specific inspiration

Download the ColourFutures™ Colour Trends guide

Discover the colour trends that informed Dulux Trade Colours of the Year 2026, The Rhythm of Blues, in this free digital guide. Inside, you’ll find practical examples of how you can use the three colour stories to elevate your design projects across education, healthcare, office and hospitality sectors.

Get the guide