ColourNext 2026

ColourNext is the annual colour forecast for Indian interiors. Targeting architects and interior designers through an exhibition, digital and print media, this excercise has been instrumental in positioning Asian Paints not just as a manufacturer of paints but a market leader and proactive visionary.

Pastoral:

The many layered threaded panels of different opacities echo the landscapes of the pastoral nomadic communities of Central Asian countries. In essence representing the vast terrain with the horizontal lines of colours of the theme. Accentuated by the field of tulips in the foreground, a gentle nod to their origin from Kazakhstan.

The lady on the horsback alludes to the vastness of the terrain and the nomadic life. This sculpted silhouette in wool is expressive of the confluence of the traditional and the contemporary. Raw, naturally dyed woollen hanks and braided yarns a horse. The exaggerated long braids in a free spirited flow complete the unique aesthetic sensibility emerging from this landscape.

The frame woven rugs and braided belts with native animal fur arranged in a circular form reflected in the yurt completes the story. 

Solarpunk: 

This theme takes the viewer to a more resilient and positive future away from the bleak climate doomsday belief towards a life enriched by an innocent utopian verdant life enabled by technology.

It is a layered lush green landscape with a hint of the technological underpinnings of parametric metal and 3D printed terracotta forms that progressively transform into a material landscape that includes a cluster of biomaterials—kombucha leather, mycelium, algae and bio-plastics—all carefully grown in the studio over a span of many months.

This is further augmented by gorpcore and craggy inspired sub sections. Gorpcore, a stylistic movement of object and high performance wear that represents a functional outdoor environment. Craggy, the raw organic combined with a metallic landscape, add to the experience of Solarpunk.

The community feast table represents a feeling of collective sharing. The furniture setting has been made from upcycled materials made from recyclable plastics embellished with found wooden chips.

Daydream: 

Daydream unfolds as a liminal atmosphere where the mind drifts into another thought — a shift in seeing through which imagination overlays onto the real.

Framed as a threshold state, the experience follows this gentle drift of attention as perception loosens and wanders. Three familiar settings — a classroom, a park bench, and a bus seat — situate the experience in the everyday, where subtle visual interventions begin to emerge alongside this movement of thought. The space operates in this overlap, where reality persists yet is continuously reinterpreted by the wandering mind.

Dreamy, translucent, and fantastical elements converge with a selection of curated objects in the moodboard area, drawing the theme together into a cohesive spatial expression.

IRL:

The first part of the installation captures the lure of the digital experience and the isolating entrapment within one’s devices — a space that reflects the vicious cycle of dopamine-driven engagement where the physical world gradually fades from awareness.

From this state of immersion, visitors are guided toward a moment of transition. An intentionally designed portal leads them into a space of genuine interaction — the colourful and feel-full world of IRL.

In contrast to the digital environment left behind, this space is conceived as an invitation to experience the physical world through a participatory thread installation, where individual actions accumulate to collectively shape an evolving outcome.

The environment is further enriched by a careful curation of objects and decor pieces, alongside a considered forecast of colours, materials, forms, and textures.