BRAVE GROUND: FINDING COURAGE AT THE HEART OF COLOUR OF THE YEAR 2021

The Dulux Colour of the Year for 2021 is Brave Ground^TM.

Experts identified the warm and grounding neutral shade as the colour that will enable people to draw upon the strength of nature to help them find the courage to embrace the future.

Adapting to its surroundings, Brave Ground^TM also flexes in tone depending on the time of day and setting, creating a subtly responsive environment that’s reflective of our growing desire to align how we live with our planet.

This year, driven by unexpected challenges, the world found comfort in the solidity of nature. By channelling this, experts believe Brave Ground^TM will create a nurturing space that will encourage people to find the courage to express themselves, stand up for what they believe in and make new connections from the past to the future.

Marianne Shillingford, Creative Director, Dulux UK, says: “The colours on our walls are the backdrop to how we live our life. For many of us, lockdown has served to emphasise how important our home environment has become, it has been the place where we work, learn, relax. It can lift us up, nurture us, comfort us.

“We continue to live through uncertain times. In 2021, the warm and grounding tones of Brave Ground^TM will allow us to find certainty in the strength from the very ground beneath our feet, emboldening us to go forward and begin to live again and giving us the flex to adapt to the ever changing circumstances we face.”

Alongside the Colour of the Year, the experts identified four complementary colour palettes to make it easy to bring the colour into different spaces within the home or workspace. These palettes - Earth, Trust, Timeless and Expressive - will help people create an environment where Brave Ground^TM either stands strong or helps other colours to shine.

For the 18th year, Dulux once again welcomed a panel of colour designers, trend forecasters, design specialists, architects and editors from around the world to come together at the AkzoNobel Global Aesthetic Centre with one goal in mind - to define one colour that encapsulates the moment.

Heleen van Gent, Head of AkzoNobel’s Global Aesthetic Centre, adds: “It’s been challenging this year to transform the key global trends into inspiring colour palettes. We’ve seen unprecedented global change, with all of us facing experiences that feel out of kilter with the modern world.

“At the same time, we’ve rediscovered more positive things: solidarity in communities, strangers’ generosity, and the realisation that together we can do extraordinary things. We’re finding the courage to pick ourselves up and move forward.

“Our homes provide a sanctuary: a place to restore, repair and recalibrate ourselves on the road to recovery.”

The Dulux Colour of the Year 2021 palettes:

• THE EARTH PALETTE - Echoing the tones of the sea, the sky and the soil, these earth shades provide a connection to the natural world around us. Bringing the outside in, they are authentic and grounding colours that work naturally together.

• THE TRUST PALETTE - Earth tones from across the globe, these unifying shades reflect everyone. Warm neutral greys and browns, these colours complement each other and encourage connection, collaboration and a sense of harmony in the home.

• THE TIMELESS PALETTE - Inspiring shades of yellows and ochres, alongside soft neutrals, these are tones that can help create a backdrop that embraces old and new. Energizing without being overpowering, they bring positivity and balance to a space.

• THE EXPRESSIVE PALETTE - Stand-out shades of reds and pinks, balanced with soft neutrals, these are colours that can add verve and vitality to our homes, allowing us to create an individual space that energizes, surprises and reflects who we really are.

  Colour of the Year is part of the ongoing commitment Dulux makes to investing in colour and the future of paint and coatings. It forms part of the promise the brand makes to its customers, the professional decorator, its colleagues and community.