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How to Read Natural Color System Codes

The Natural Color System (NCS) originated in Sweden as a method of describing colors the way the human eye perceives them. It became the Swedish national color standard in 1979, and since then has been adopted as a national standard in Norway, Spain and South Africa. Its proprietary color space describes each color in terms of its hue and nuance, which is a combination of its black, white and chominance levels. If you are a graphic or interior designer who works with international clients, you may come across these codes in descriptions of logo colors, wall paint or decorating schemes.

Instructions

    • 1

      Interpret the leading acronym "NCS" as "Natural Color System."

    • 2

      Read "S" as "Standardized." This denotes that it is part of the Natural Color System's original palette of 1,950 colors.

    • 3

      Look at the first two numbers to determine the color's percentage of black. For instance, NCS S 0575-G90Y represents a shade of yellow comprised of 5 percent black.

    • 4

      Examine the next two numbers to determine the percentage of chromaticness, or the degree to which the color appears similar to a fully-saturated version of that hue. For instance, NCS S 0575-G90Y appears 75 percent saturated.

    • 5

      Interpret the first and last letters in the four character string following the hyphen as the NCS elementary colors that start with those initials (yellow (Y), red (R), blue (B) or green (G)). For instance, NCS S 0575-G90Y is a mixture of green and yellow.

    • 6

      Examine the two numbers in the middle of the string to determine the percentage of the last color. NCS S 0575-G90Y is 90 percent yellow.

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