Design Pool’s 2025 Color of the Year

Each December, I pause to consider color and think about the upcoming year. I consider how color helps us express ourselves and connect us to the world. Those connections can feel universal or more personal. Sometimes, we need color to energize us, and other times, we need it to ground us. As January approaches, I wondered if the Design Pool 2025 Color of the Year can do both.  

As 2025 approaches, my roots as a textile designer inspired this year’s color. Though most of the work I do daily exists in the digital world, textiles are very much an analog pursuit. Creating tactile artwork helps balance my time spent interacting with screens and keyboards.

The Design Pool 2025 Color of the Year is It Madders.

This past year, I have focused on experimenting with natural dyes in my art practice. As I experiment with new dyes, I think a lot about where our color comes from. Who were the people who figured out this root, or that leaf, could produce such a beautiful color? What are the impacts on the planet of using this plant for dye? How can we be more conscious about our consumption? The answers to all these questions matter and led to this year’s choice for 2025 Color of the Year, It Madders.

It Madders is a shade of red inspired by the natural dye madder. Madder is one of those dyes that seems almost magical. So many shades of red and pink can be made from this single dye. These colors can indeed both ground and energize us.

Madder also has a fascinating history. It is one of the most ancient dyes humans use. Historians have traced it back to the Indus civilization of around 3,000 BCE. Humans cultivated madder throughout Europe and the Middle East, with its most valuable version coming from Turkey, Holland, and France. While there are different madder plants in the rubiaceae family, the dye comes from the rubia tinctorum plant. It is a leafy plant with yellow-green flowers, but the color is from its roots, which contain alizarin. The roots generally take about three years to grow before they are useable as a dye.

Red plays an influential role in our culture.

As a bright shade, red can be an exciting color. It is one of the first colors babies begin to see, giving lovable creatures like Elmo an unfair advantage. Red grabs people’s attention and warns them to stop or be alert of possible danger. It symbolizes love, passion, and desire, as well as good luck. It can inspire feelings of optimism and self-confidence.

Since it was a difficult color to attain and dye in a way that was colorfast, it was often used to denote class. Kings in the Middle Ages often wore it to communicate their God-given right to the throne. Likewise, lower-class citizens were often forbidden by law to wear it.  

Yet, in a more earthy shade, red can establish a connection to nature. It can be a warm color that elicits a feeling of groundedness. This fall, a rich burgundy was all over the fashion runways, often paired with beautiful jewel tones and cozy neutrals. This shade of red is elegant and versatile in fashion and interiors.

Natural Dye and Sustainability

When it comes to what we buy and consume, there are many different ways to practice sustainability in our daily lives. Using natural dyes in my artwork reminds me of how precious textiles once were. Only very recently did textiles become so cheap as to be considered disposable.

For me, working with madder reminds me of the skill and patience involved in bringing color into our lives. Personally, it makes me more conscious of making thoughtful purchases, of buying fewer, more meaningful objects. This feeling inspired me to launch Design Pool in 2019 to help interior design source sustainably produced materials. It also inspired the launch of our sister store, Domanda Design, which is stocked with meaningfully designed products, printed on demand, assuring minimal waste during production.

Start using It Madders in your projects today.

Get started using Design Pool’s 2025 Color of the Year, It Madders, by searching our licensable library by color to see which patterns come in red colorways. Need some inspiration? Here are a few of our favorites.