100 new NCS colours

For the first time since 2004 NCS Colour AB have added new colours to the NCS Standard range. 100 new colours have been added bringing the full range to 2050 colours which is now available in selected NCS formats.

100 new NCS Standard colours

Why have they added new colours?

The 100 new colours are the result of a joint effort between NCS Colour and a global community of colour professionals to improve the NCS system.

“The low chromatic colours are a constant in our bestselling colours list. We have seen over the years how important these colours are. They are frequently used in our colour development projects with the decorative paint industry, kitchen brands, home appliance, automotive industry etc. and recurrently top the list of the most requested colours by the design community.” Ingela Koski-Vahala, Product Manager, NCS Colour AB

Low chromatic colours are very important in both interior and exterior design, architecture and product design, however, it can be difficult to distinguish between low chromatic colour samples until they are applied. Once the colour is applied slight differences in nuance or hue can make a major impact on the final design appearing too beige or too grey in certain lighting.

For this reason NCS Colour have made the Standard range of colours denser in the low chromatic area of colour space.

How have they added the new colours?

New technology has enabled NCS to produce samples in completely new nuances with low chromaticness. These 100 colours have never before existed in the NCS Standard colour range and thus fill the gaps in the range and extend its usefulness in practical design application and precision of colour matching.

Low chromatic colours are the most frequently used colours from the NCS range apart from the true Neutrals (N suffix colours on the neutral grey scale from white to black). The new colours are from the area of hue circle between yellow and red including beige and brown (which are nuances of orange) and pink which is a nuance of red.

As “White” is an extremely important colour, particularly for paint, NCS has added two new nuances into this space, 0601 and 1001 to correspond to the most often sold white paint tones which have Blackness between 05 and 10 and Cromaticness between 00 and 02.

In summary you will find in the new colours there are many slightly tinted whites and greys, lots more beige colours and some ‘safe’ off-whites.

“We take pride in constantly working to improve the Natural Colour System and its physical and digital representations. Adding 100 new Standard colours is an important milestone for us” Elin Askfelt, CEO, NCS Colour

Updated Design Tools

NCS have also released an update of the most popular design tools to improve usability of the tools as well as their sustainability.

NCS Index, NCS Atlas, NCS Block HUE, NCS Block NUANCE, NCS Album and NCS Box have all been redesigned to include the new 100 colours and at the same time make it even easier to navigate and find the perfect colour for your project. Plastic elements have been reduced to a minimum.

With the new version of the NCS Index 2050 the highly optimised colour sorting is based both on user preferences and the NCS Colour Circle, which makes it quick and easy to find the colour you have in mind.

Within each hue-section (piece of the pie) the colours are arranged by nuance following the NCS Colour Triangle, on each page the lighter colours are at the top and the darker at the bottom.

The low chromatic colours can be found in a separate section and are sorted by nuance which is the preferred method of choosing these types of colours.

New Product!

A new product has also been launched –  NCS WS160

NCS WS 160 includes a selection of the most popular blacks, white and tinted neutral colour samples from the NCS 2050 Standard colour range. The 160 colours are arranged by hue and divided into six chapters based on how chromatic they are, going from lightly tinted neutrals to more chromatic nuances. The larger colour samples give a good visual indication of the darkness or lightness of the colours.

The NCS WS 160 set is ideal for designers and architects who work extensively with a neutral palette as well as those who wish to renovate in a palette of soft whites and greys.

The colours are presented in an A6-format pinned together at one corner for fast and easy identification of colour, nuance and degree of darkness or lightness. The size of the NCS WS 160 samples enables them to be held against walls or furniture to check which of the nuances works best in the available light.