colou r chartColour chart“We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us”Winston Chu rchillNCS Edition 2 (S)NCS Edition 2 is always presented with an S in front of the notation. The S means second edition. NCS (Natural Colour System) is a system with the help of which all conceivable surface colour can be described. The system is illustrated by a colour atlas containing 1950 colour samples. NCS is a Swedish, Norwegian, Spanish and South African standard and is one of the most widely used colour-describing systems in the world.The variables in the NCS notation are built entirely on visually observa-ble properties of the colours. NCS can also be illustrated graphically in a geometrical model as shown below.In the notation for a red colour S 1050-Y90R the fi rst two digits indi-cate the percentage of visual blackness in the colour. The next two digits indicate the colour’s visual chromaticness. They can together be maximum 100%. In the example 1050 is the rest 40% pure white. The letter-number combination after the hyphen indicates the colour’s hue, i.e. which chromatic attributes are included and the proportion between these. In this case, it is a yellow hue with 90% redness. The blackness and chromaticness are given in an equilateral triangle and the hue on a circle. A point in the triangle and a line on the circumference of the circle provide an unequivocal description of a colour. The red colour S 1050-Y90R is marked in the triangle and in the circle above.NCS Edition 1All colour samples based on NCS edition 2 have an S in front of the NCS notation (S stands for Second edition). The older Edition 1 did not include the S. Otherwise the notation system have exactly...
