colour communication in industry from design to product ... · pdf filecolour communication in...

Dr. Robert HirschlerSENAI/CETIQT Colour Institute

Colour communication in industryfrom design to product - with special

emphasis on textiles

Colour communication

From design…………….to product

Colour communication

From design…………….to product

Design Development Sampling

Production Commerce Consumer

Colour communication

From design…………….to product – and from consumer……. to designer

Design Development Sampling

Production Commerce: WS/retail Consumer

Colour communication

Levels of colour communication (the first six according tothe ISCC-NBS Universal Colour Language)

Verbal

Visual

Instrumental

Electronic/Virtual

Colour communicationLevel 1

Generic hue namesand neutrals

Our selected colourshall be called“Brown”

Colour communicationLevel 2

Intermediate huenames

Our selected colourshall be called“Yellowish Brown”

Colour communicationLevel 3

All hue names andneutrals withmodifiers

Our selected colourshall be called “LightYellowish Brown”

Colour communicationLevel 4

Munsell notation

Our selected colourshall be called“Munsell 10 YR 6/4”

Colour communicationLevel 5

Munsell notation withvisual interpolation

Our selected colour shall becalled“Munsell 9.5 YR 6.4/4.25”

Colour communicationLevel 6

Instrumental measurement

Our selected colour shall becharacterised by thespectral curve, or by thecolorimetric values:

x = 0.395y = 0.382 orY = 35.6

L* = 0.395a* = 0.382b* = 35.6

Colour communicationLevel 7

Electronic / virtual

Our selected colour shall becharacterised by the imageformed on a monitor, or bythe colorimetric values:

R = 188G = 154B = 107

Colour communication

Levels of colour communication (the first six according tothe ISCC-NBS Universal Colour Language)

Verbal

Visual

Instrumental

Electronic/Virtual

Colour communicationLevel 1

Centroid colours in the ISCC-NBS UCL charts which maybe called “Brown” (Generic hue name)

Yellowish brownsOlive browns

Browns

Colour communicationLevel 2

The Yellowish Brown page of the ISCC-NBS UCL: huenames

Colour communicationLevel 3

All hue names andneutrals withmodifiers

Our selected colourshall be called “LightYellowish Brown”

Colour communication

Verbal colour communication (Levels 1 to 3) isnot very efficient

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Visual colour communication

Colour sample collection(pattern card, shade card)with arbitrary code and alimited number of samples(a few dozen to a fewhundred)

Colour order systemWith notation based on someguiding principle, a larger numberof samples (several hundred to afew thousand)

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour sample collections

Shade card of a cotton yarn supplier.Arrangement according to “hue and nuance”

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour sample collections

Shade card of a cotton fabric supplierNo particular arrangement – Nearest Pantone code given

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour sample collections

Shade cards of a man-made fibres fabricsmanufacturer. Different ranges for each fibre type

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour sample collections

Viscose fabric shade cardArrangement according to “hue and nuance”

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour sample collections

Two shade card for the same substrate(PES fabric) for two different end-uses

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

At the perceptual (visual) level colours may becharacterised in terms of hue, value (lightness) and

chroma (saturation) [Munsell]…

HUE

VALUE

CHROMA

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

… or hue, whiteness and blackness [NCS]

HUE

WHITENESS

BLACKNESS

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

The MUNSELL system uses the concepts of Hue, Value(lightness) and Chroma

HUE

VALUE

CHROMA

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

The 5 principle andthe 5 intermediatehues are arranged ina (hue) circle. Ineditions of theMunsell Book ofColors with 40 huesthey are designatedas 5R, 7.5R, 10R,2.5R etc. There existeditions with up to100 hues.

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

Current editions of the MBCshow only constant hue charts,with constant Value inhorizontal lines with Chromaincreasing from left (neutrals)to right (most colourful), andconstant Chroma in verticalcolumns with Value increasingfrom bottom (darkest) to top(lightest). The differencebetween neighbouring coloursis about 10 CIELAB units.

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

Red and green constant hue pages with the notationH V/C (Hue Value/Chroma)

5R 6/125R 6/12 5G 7/85G 7/8

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

Yellow and purple constant hue pages in the MBC withlines of constant lightness and columns of constantchroma

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

The Munsell “color tree” showing the constant huecharts of the 20 principal and intermediate hues

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

The Munsell “color tree” showing the constant huecharts of purple – blue - green

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

The Munsell “color tree” showing the constant huecharts of green – yellow - red

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

The main screen of the Munsell conversion software,available from http://WallkillColor.com

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

The constant hue screen of the Munsell conversionsoftware, available from http://WallkillColor.com

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

The tolerance screen of the Munsell conversionsoftware, available from http://WallkillColor.com

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

Principal characteristics of the Munsell System

• Logical structure• Perceptually equal distances between the samples• Notation is not limited to existing samples

(possibility of interpolation and extrapolation)• The repeatability of sample colours and the

reproducibility from edition to edition iscontrolled to very strict tolerances

• Possibility to select harmonious colourcombinations following some simple rules

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Munsell-based colour collections

The two best-known textile colour collections based onthe Munsell system: PANTONE and SCOTDIC

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Munsell-based colour collections

The old textile collections had 1701 cotton or papersamples

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Munsell-based colour collections

The new TCX Cotton Pantone collection.1.925 colours in the FASHION + HOME System

TPX (paper)

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Munsell-based colour collections

The Pantone SWCDX Swatch Card: reference samplesfor visual/physical colour communication.

Within DE 0.5 of the master standard

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Munsell-based colour collections

The greatest advantage of the PANTONE system is itsubiquity – it is without doubt the best known set of

colour collection across a wide range of applications

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Munsell-based colour collections

The PANTONE colours are also available in electronicformat, you may insert them into most of the popular

design and even Office applications

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Munsell-based colour collections

PANTONE has recently launched an inexpensive devicecalled the colormunki for digital colour management, monitor

and printer calibration and profiling (Level 7)

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Munsell-based colour collections

The SCOTDIC system is a true textile reproduction ofthe Munsell, but using a hue circle divided into 54 parts,

and two numbers each for value and chroma

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Munsell-based colour collections

The greatest advantage of the SCOTDIC system is thetrue reproduction of the Munsell colours

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Munsell-based colour collections

The SCOTDIC collections are produced in more than2000 cotton and 2500 PES fabric colours as well as in

cotton yarn, CO/PES mixtures and wool

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

Other colour order systemsuse different concepts. TheOstwald and the NCSsystems are based on thepigment mixture ofpure colour + white (tint);pure colour + grey (tone)pure colour + black (shade)

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

Constant hue chart and hue circle from the 1917edition of Die Farbenfibel (Colour Primer)

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

The Color Harmony Manual – the most completerepresentation of the Ostwald colour order system

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

Constant hue pages from the Color Harmony Manual

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

Constant hue pages from the Color Harmony Manual

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

There are resemblances between the Natural ColourSystem (NCS) and the Ostwald, but there are also

significant conceptual differences

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

The NCS hue circleThe unitary huesare placed in keypositions, yellow -blue and red-greenare opposite, but(contrary to theMunsell system)they are notnecessarilycomplementary

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

In the NCS colours ofthe same hue arearranged in series ofconstant whiteness(tint) and constantblackness (shade).The vertical columnsshow similarity toconstant chroma(constant greycontent: tone), whilelightness increasesfrom bottom to top.

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

Constant hue charts (Y and R) in theNatural Colour System (NCS)

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

Constant hue charts (B and G) in theNatural Colour System (NCS)

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

NCS products: atlas and boxed set of samples

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

The electronic version of NCS works with most designsoftware packages (Palette) and also with CAD systems

(ArchiCAD)

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

Advantages of visual colour communication based oncolour collections or colour order systems (COS):

• easy and unambiguous to use;• possibility to communicate the notations

electronically (provided all parties have access to thesample collection);

• for the Munsell system possibility of visual orinstrumental interpolation (Level 5)

Colour communicationLevel 4 – Colour order systems

Disadvantages of visual colour communication basedon colour collections or colour order systems (COS):

• all the participants must have the same edition of thesample collection / COS;

• limited number of colours in the collection, relativelylarge differences (DE*~5-6) between desired andavailable colour;

• metamerism between produced samples and COS