standards developed specially for them
by Global Color Management, an arm of
the Scandinavian Color Institute. In an
age where corporate identity is such a
vital part of a successful business,
expect to see a growth in this area. In
fact, recently a number of multinationals have begun to copyright the colors
used in logos.
Color systems have been around
since the middle of the 20th century.
For the coatings and paint sector success lies in the ability to streamline
color collection and secure accuracy in
production, saving time and money.
However, in this day and age it is not
only about what you can do internally
with color but the advantages it can
give you in the eyes of your clients. In
this case using a color system can make
it easier for your clients to get what
they want. Call it standardization if
you will but let us not ignore we are living in a global marketplace where projects are carried out by many different
international entities and in this sense
the enhanced ability to communicate
your color requirements is essential.
At a glance there are three main
color systems for design, architecture
and related industries. Pantone, RAL
and NCS. Each was developed in the
mid 20th century and all exist to fulfill
the requirements of industry, giving a
user order from chaos as it were.
Pantone is arguably the best-known
name and is used extensively in the
graphics, textiles and fashion sector
with affiliations to Adobe and its
design suites. On the surface it may
appear to have a big range of colors
and covers bright, fluorescents and
more ‘regular’ colors and its samples
are available as textile formats, the
main reason for its use in fashion and
soft furnishings. However, tests reveal
that while its colors may appear
attractive, the cost of reproducing
these poppy brights are large and its
accuracy of color often very unreliable.
Its swatches are only printed and as a
result have a tendency to fade quickly.
Its suitability for graphics too often
end at the production stage when the
selection of a screen color (for internet
or software use only due to being RGB)
will result in a ‘back to the drawing
board’ scenario and the next best color
having to be selected.
RAL was developed as a national
standard for safety and regulatory use
in Germany. Still widely used in the
coatings industry, its popularity lies in
paint industry is very strong due to its
consistency and accuracy.
“There’s no recession in color and its
impact can, literally, transform a tired
space,” said Doty Horn, director of
color and design for Benjamin More.
“For the coatings and paint sector success lies
in the ability to streamline color collection and secure
accuracy in production, saving time and money.”
a new range of colors and the addition
of strong metallic shades for industrial
use. Its color products are however,
more accurate than that of Pantone
but its global reach is not that widespread especially an important consideration in this age of outsourcing.
Aside from its range of metallics and
colors for waterborne paint production,
the range of colors is pretty widespread across the spectrum.
The Natural Color System, or NCS,
as it is widely known, was developed in
a slightly different way—as a means of
measuring and identifying color.
Essentially it is a language, which
gives users the ability to describe any
color the human can see using a notation. This means that rather than trying to describe a ‘Treacherous Orange’
to a supplier on the other side of the
world you can simply say you require
an NCS S 3050-Y50R. As long as the
person on the other end of the phone
knows the system they will be able to
understand what color you require.
NCS has by far the most accurate color
system which is very important in this
age of international production and its
color products will not fade (if used correctly) for up to ten years. As opposed
to the other color companies, NCS is
based around its system rather than
being swatch-driven. It’s probably the
fastest growing of the three, with
many ArchiCad programs like
Microstation and Google SketchUp all
having NCS palettes and its use in the
“Color sells. Color defines. Designers
are sometimes signified by a signature
color. This is what I call building ‘color
equity.’ They rely on the versatility
and the options that color affords
them when working with clients and
projects.”
Right now and indeed looking into
the future it is safe to say that the current economic situation will result in a
wider use of color in paints and coatings. The public is seeking an escape
from the bleakness in the papers and
the uncertainty faced by us all. The
psychology is simple: color uplifts us.
The new builds are seeing a greater
use of external color as a way of
enhancing a sense of community and
fostering belonging, attachment and
pride. “Color is also a language that is
best translated when in combination
with each other and at its best is such
a powerful medium that can single
handedly transform a product, space
or mood,” concluded Horn. CW
Color Links
www.globalcolor.co.uk
www.ncscolor.com
www.pantone.com
www.ral-colors.com
www.benjaminmoore.com
www.freedomtreedesign.com
