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KNOW + IMPROVE trend colours and colour combinations

The 2026+ palette connects past and present and looks to the future. Five colours from the previous edition are updated with ten new companions origining from the RAL DESIGN SYSTEM plus. Three colours have been influential since 2023+ and are still new classics.

Context-sensitive and inclusive design makes an important contribution to well-being and remains a core element of successful design. The colour palette meets complex needs. It mediates between warm and cool, subtle and bold, as well as forward-looking and historically inspired nuances. Higher contrasts also take into account the needs of the visually impaired and those with limited colour vision.

Use the RAL DESIGN SYSTEM plus to flexibly and easily adapt our proposals to ensure that your design solutions are perfectly tailored to your needs.

Our inspirational colours make it easier to design for various individuals and groups. They encourage constructive exchanges, help to reduce anxiety and support wellbeing. The colour matrix encourages fitting and imaginative design. Vary and expand the colour selection simply and quickly with RAL DESIGN SYSTEM plus. You can also combine additional colours from the previous RAL COLOUR FEELING suggestions.

Applying the RAL trend colour palette in a functional and atmosphere-oriented way

All colours in the palette can be mixed and matched. Our inspiring colour profiles help you make decisions about high-quality working and living environments. They support functionality, sensuality, regeneration, communication and creativity.

The suggestions are based on scientific trend research, economic and ecological considerations, sound colour psychology and many years of experience in high-profile colour design. Much more inspiration and application tips will be published on the social media channels of RAL COLOURS.

COLOUR MATERIAL FINISH

Colours appear more subtle on matt, textured surfaces. Higher gloss levels often make them appear more intense. Translucency can create exciting effects.

As part of RAL COLOUR FEELING 2026+, a material box, the RAL Trendbox, is available, which transfers the 15 trend colours to five different materials and finishes.

The box is an efficient, easy to use and inspiring tool for design and architecture. Use the samples for mood boards and concept visualisations.

The RAL Trendbox 2026+ was created in cooperation with our partners Covestro, Gabriel, Object Carpet, Tiger Coatings and the German Design Council.

Tools

Free to download:

Design-Kit (Colour Libaries, Main and Secondary Colours, Leporello, Images, Poster)

Press-Kit (Press Release, Images, Leporello)

Application project: The potential of the coca plant as a colourant

As part of the Tinta Dulce project by Ginger-Blonde, Cucuma and IIT Bogotá / IIT HAWK, the 15 colours of the RAL COLOUR FEELING 2026+ trend report were naturally reproduced using coca leaves to dye different fibres. The Institute International Trendscouting - Bogotá (IIT Bogotá) and IIT Hildesheim play a central role in linking traditional knowledge with global design research methods and colour trend developments.

The Tinta Dulce initiative explores the potential of the coca leaf as a natural colourant. As part of the project, rural and artisan communities are using the coca plant in creative and innovative ways. Workshops in various cities in Colombia developed natural pigments from the coca leaf and at the same time strengthened creative and economic autonomy.

This is what makes the coca plant so exciting as a basis for natural colourants

For decades, the coca plant has been reduced to a negative narrative due to its association with cocaine. This overlooks its great cultural, historical and everyday significance for indigenous and rural communities in the Andes. New voices and initiatives from the Global South see the coca leaf not as a threat, but as an opportunity for sustainability, creativity and justice in their region.

The coca plant is one of the few plants in the world that, thanks to its intensive cultivation, has the potential to be used as a colouring agent in small industries in the short term - especially in certain regions such as Colombia.

Dyeing with the coca plant in the 15 RAL COLOUR FEELING 2026+ colours

A total of 45 recipes were developed in the process - for each of the 15 RAL COLOUR FEELING 2026+ colours and three materials or fibres: Fique, silk and cotton. This required a complicated interplay of weight quantities of coca leaves, material to be coloured, water, water temperature, soaking time of dyeing material, additives, acids, alkalis, natural mordants obtained from the snake plant, for example, or the addition of other local natural pigments such as loquat leaves (rosé), annatto seeds (reddish), walnut (blackish brown).

The coca plant as a colouring agent - results and outlook

On the one hand, the results show a high colour stability, on the other hand, a further formulation process is necessary due to different material behaviour with some materials. Almost half of the shades of RAL COLOUR FEELING 2026+ could be achieved by dyeing exclusively with boiled coca leaves. The coca leaves were used as a base for nuancing all other colour shades, with other plant-based products added. A separate recipe without coca leaves was only necessary for a few colour shades.

The natural dye from coca leaves could be produced quite stably for different materials and quantities. The quality of the leaves was usually the same. The colours hardly deviate from the RAL DESIGN SYSTEM plus.

The fact that the pigments have been successfully developed using the RAL COLOUR FEELING 2026+ palette and based on recipes for different materials is more than just a creative sign. It means that the Global South is taking part in worldwide conversations about standardisation and sustainability in the creative industries.

The next research step will be to formulate coca leaves grown in different regions, different climate zones or cultivation techniques and on different soil quality. The colour stability and the resulting delta colour deviations from the previously set standard of 15 colour shades will then be tested. The aim is to further investigate differences, material behaviour and economic viability in order to establish the plant as a sustainable design resource worldwide. Colour formulations for other applications such as screen printing or wall paints will also be tested and developed.