cam U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Universal Language and National Bureau of Standards Dictionary of Names NBS SPECIAL PUBLICATION 440 A111D3 D&77&H '^milSmif & TECH RI.C. A1 1 1 03087784 / 1 Standaras National Bureau of ^87? ftPR 19 C COLOR Q_ Universal Language and Dictionary of Names Kenneth L. Kelly and Deane B. Judd* Sensorv' Environment Section Center for Building Technology National Bureau of Standards Supersedes and Combines THE ISCC-NBS METHOD OF DESIGNATING COLORS AND A DICTIONARY OF COLOR NAMES, by Kenneth L. Kelly and Deane B. Judd, NBS Circular 553, Nov. 1, 1955 and A UNIVERSAL COLOR LANGUAGE, by Kenneth L. Kelly, Color Engineering 3, 16 (March-April 1965) Deceased U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, Elliot L. Richardson, Secretary Edward O. Vetter, Under Secretary Dr. Betsy Anker-Johnson, Assistant Secretary for Science and Technology J .National Bureau of Standards, Ernest Ambler, Acting Director DECEMBER 1976 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 76-600071 COVER PICTURE: Color solid representing the three-dimensional arrangement of colors. See also page A-2. Nat. Bur. Stand. (U.S.), Spec. Publ. 440, 184 pages (December 1976). For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 (Order by SD Catalog No. C13. 10 : 440) Price $3.25 Stock Number 003-003-01705-1 A-ii " NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS The National Bureau of Standards' was established by an act of Congress March 3, 1901. The Bureau's overall goal is to strengthen and advance the Nation's science and technology and facilitate their effective application for public benefit. To this end, the Bureau conducts research and provides: (1) a basis for the Nation's physical measurement system, (2) scientific and technological services for industry and government, (3) a technical basis for equity in trade, and (4) technical services to promote public safety. The Bureau consists of the Institute for Basic Standards, the Institute for Materials Research, the Institute for Applied Technology, the Institute for Computer Sciences and Technology, and the Office for Information Programs. THE INSTITUTE FOR BASIC STANDARDS provides the central basis within the United States of a complete and consistent system of physical measurement; coordinates that system with measurement systems of other nations; and furnishes essential services leading to accurate and uniform physical measurements throughout the Nation's scientific community, industry, and commerce. The Institute consists of the Office of Measurement Services, the Office of Radiation Measurement and the following Center and divisions: Applied Mathematics — Electricity — Mechanics — Heat — Optical Physics — Center for Radiation Research: Nuclear Sciences; Applied Radiation — Laboratory Astrophysics -. — Cryogenics " — Electromagnetics — Time and Frequency THE INSTITUTE FOR MATERIALS RESEARCH conducts materials research leading to improved methods of measurement, standards, and data on the properties of well-characterized materials needed by industry, commerce, educational institutions, and Government; provides advisory and research services to other Government agencies; and develops, produces, and distributes standard reference materials. The Institute consists of the Office of Standard Reference Materials, the Oflfice of Air and Water Measurement, and the following divisions: Analytical Chemistry — Polymers — Metallurgy — Inorganic Materials — Reactor Radiation — Physical Chemistry. THE INSTITUTE FOR APPLIED TECHNOLOGY provides technical services to promote the use of available technology and to facilitate technological innovation in industry and Government; cooperates with public and private organizations leading to the development of technological standards (including mandatory safety standards), codes and methods of test; and provides technical advice and services to Government agencies upon request. The Insti- tute consists of the following divisions and Centers: Standards Application and Analysis — Electronic Technology — Center for Consumer Product Technology: Product Systems Analysis; Product Engineering — Center for Building Technology: Structures, Materials, and Life Safety; Building Environment; Technical Evalua- tion and Application — Center for Fire Research: Fire Science; Fire Safety Engineering. THE INSTITUTE FOR COMPUTER SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY conducts research and provides technical services designed to aid Government agencies in improving cost effec- tiveness in the conduct of their programs through the selection, acquisition, and effective utilization of automatic data processing equipment; and serves as the principal focus within the executive branch for the development of Federal standards for automatic data processing equipment, techniques, and computer languages. The Institute consists of the following divisions: Computer Services — Systems and Software — Computer Systems Engineering — Informa- tion Technology. THE OFFICE FOR INFORMATION PROGRAMS promotes optimum dissemination and accessibility of scientific information generated within NBS and other agencies of the Federal Government; promotes the development of the National Standard Reference Data System and a system of information analysis centers dealing with the broader aspects of the National Measurement System; provides appropriate services to ensure that the NBS staff has optimum accessibility to the scientific information of the world. The Office consists of the following organizational units: Office of Standard Reference Data — Office of Information Activities — Office of Technical Publications — Library — Office of International Relations — Office of International Standards. ' Headquarters and Laboratories at Gaithersburg. Maryland, unless otherwise noted; mailing address Washington. D C. 20234. - Located at Boulder. Colorado 80302. THE UNIVERSAL COLOR LANGUAGE Kenneth L. Kelly Preface to 1976 Edition The ISCC-NBS Color Names Dictionary (NBS Circular 553) has gone through six previous printings and has sold nearly 14,000 copies. In the years since this Dictionary became available in January 1956, a number of significant advances have been made in this field of colorimetry. The importance of the Centroid numbers became increasingly clear, so they were added to the appropriate color-name blocks in the color-name charts in section 13 of the 1963 (4th) and subsequent printings. Otherwise the Color Names Dictionary remains exactly the same. The demand for colors to illustrate the color-name blocks was voiced even before publication in November 1955. However, due to the high cost of developing precise colors and the lack of funds, the development of the ISCC-NBS Centroid Colors was delayed until 1965. At that time, they were published with financial assistance from the Color Marketing Group. These colors were produced by the Toby Color Card Company of St. Louis, and the Munsell Color Company of Baltimore supervised the final produc- tion, thus assuring that the Centroid Colors would meet the very stringent tolerances specified for them. The Centroid Color Charts became the first Supplement to the Color Names Dictionary. When the Centroid Color Charts were received in early 1965, there were fewer than 100 copies of the Color Names Dictionary in stock at the Government Printing Office. Since it would have required some time to update the Dictionary, it was reprinted with- out change (5th printing, 5/12/65). The necessary revisions including a description of the Centroid Colors were then incorporated into a paper entitled A Universal Color Language (UCL), also published in 1965. That paper is the second Supplement to the Color Names Dictionary. Since the Color Names Dictionary is still the basic document in this field of color and is now out of stock, it is being reprinted (7th printing) and updated by revising The Universal Color Language and publishing it along with the Dictionary. The Color Names Dictionary, The Universal Color Language and the Centroid Color Charts form a com- plete unit and are most useful when purchased together. For the first time all three items can be purchased from the Office of Standard Reference Materials, National Bureau of Standards. In addition, this volume containing the UCL and the Color Names Dictionarj' can be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office. The National Bureau of Standards is again happy to acknowledge the cooperative nature of this project and to express its appreciation to all those who have made it possible. Kenneth L. Kelly CONTENTS Preface to 1976 Edition A-vi Abstract A-1 Introduction A-1 Method of Color Designation A-1 The Universal Color Language A-6 The ISCC-NBS Centroid Colors A-10 Other Advantages and Applications of the Centroid Colors A-10 Level 1 A-13 Level 2 A-13 Level 3 A-13 Level 4 A-13 Level 5 A-13 Level 6 A- 17 Variable Accuracy A-17 Summary A- 18 References A-18 The Color Names Dictionary (CND) iii (The CND has been reproduced exactly as it was in the 6th printing including the Table of Contents and pagination) A-vii ; ; The Universal Color Language by Kenneth L. Kelly Abstract The Uiiivei-sal Color Language (UCL) has been revised and will be published together with the 7th printing of the Color Names Dictionary. It serves as the means of updating the Dictionary. The UCL brings together all the well known color-order systems and methods of designating color. It interrelates them in six correlated levels of fineness of color designation, each higher level in- dicating a finer division of the color