The Society of Bead Researchers Help to Develop the Munsell Bead Color Book for Classifying & Comparing

When classifying a bead, one of the most important characteristics to look at is a bead’s color, which must be documented in order to compare different beads. In the past, this process was made difficult by the lack of readily available tools for identifying colors. Through the years, bead researchers have used a number of identification systems, some quite expensive and others not widely available. The most optimal way to identify a bead’s color was to use the Munsell Book of Color, but due to price, this fantastic resource was not accessible to everyone.

The solution? To create a more compact, affordably priced guide specifically for identifying bead colors. The Munsell Book of Color is a very large resource, but what was necessary was a smaller version only containing the most common bead colors found in archaeological sites and in ethnographic pieces. In 2011 Munsell set out to create a bead color book that could be used by archaeologists, art historians, bead and beadwork scholars, and others.

The Bead Color Book is similar to Munsell’s Soil Color Charts, Plant Tissue Color Charts and Rock Color Chart, offering a smaller, more portable set of information on bead colors alone. The Bead Color Book is also more affordable, allowing even students to be able to own this resource. Compiled by myself and Karlis Karklins with help from Laurie Burgess, 176 colors were compiled spanning the spectrum of color.

Organization of the Bead Color Book

The Munsell Bead Color Book is organized by the Munsell Color Notation and then by the Munsell Color System values of Hue, Value and Chroma.

Using the Munsell Bead Color Book

Using the Munsell Bead Color Book is not complicated at all. You should use a teasing needle (found in scientific supply houses) and the bead being examined should be held on the needle against a white background.  If you are examining beadwork, first find the color you think most like the bead you are trying to identify, then place the hole next to that color over the beadwork to see what matches the best. The color of beads should be determined when possible in natural daylight or the closest to it. Both incandescent and fluorescent lighting subtly alter bead colors which may give you false readings.

Beads may need to be cleaned to determine the color of beads. Glass beads often need to be moistened to bring out their true color. It is common practice that they be dabbed with a bit of saliva (not contaminated by food or drink, of course!) For beads of other materials, deionized water may be used to clean the beads and is often used on glass beads as well. If glass beads appear to suffer from glass disease, then saliva will be the better choice.

About the Society of Bead Researchers

Founded in 1981, the Society of Bead Researchers is a non-profit scientific-educational corporation. The goal of this society is to to foster research on beads of all materials and periods and to expedite the dissemination of the resultant knowledge.

Allow me to shed a little light on the subject. Rest assured you weren’t suffering from a temporary case of color blindness. You were most likely experiencing a color and light phenomenon, called Metamerism. This phenomenon happens when colors or materials appear to coordinate or match under one lighting condition but not in another. This is due to different light energies when combined with different color components or pigments.

Color Rendering Index (CRI) and the Effect of Light

CRI (Color Rendering Index) is the measure of the degree of color shift of an object when illuminated by a light source. The higher the CRI number the better visual perception of colors in an environment. The CRI measurement ranges from 0 to 100. Natural, outdoors CRI is 100. Your better par 30 LED flood light will render 92 CRI, where your better soft white and day light, 50 W, fluorescent light will render 82 CRI.

When it comes to Color, Choose Your Light Source Carefully

When selecting colors it’s imperative that you consider the light source, in which the design will ultimately be seen in. If your design is intended for interiors, select the colors indoors under its actual lighting. Likewise, if your design or color scheme is going to live outside in natural light, don’t make your final color selection inside. Natural daylight (morning, noon, sunset and the time of year) fluorescent, incandescent and LED affect colors differently.

Color & Lighting Conditions

Fluorescent lighting has rapidly replaced incandescent, saving consumers a bundle on their utility bills. The lighting industry has been making great strides in improving the quality of fluorescent lighting, but they’re not all are created equal. So when purchasing fluorescents, do your home work get a better lamp with a higher Color Rendering Index.

LED (Light Emitting Diodes) are lighting the way of the future. Everyone’s on the cut cost-cutting and saving the planet band wagon. While it’s important to use our resources wisely, it’s equally important that good-quality lighting isn’t sacrificed in the process. LEDs have a longer life span than and fluorescents, emit more light per watt, show truer colors and are better for our health. But here’s the catch. To replace your standard light bulb, with an LED will put a dent in your wallet about $69.00. On the up side, you won’t have to replace it for years.

The Effects of Light & Color on Your Bottom Line

I was recently a keynote speaker in Helsinki, for a group of food manufacturers and food package designers. Prior to my color and light presentation, I had the pleasure of meeting some of the key leaders of Finland’s food manufacturing and packaging industry. I discovered that the majority of the businesses were wrestling with one common challenge….color and light. While their product’s food quality and package designs were perfectly fine, the lighting in the grocery stores where their products were on display was not. For example cold cuts and other meat packing were bathed in poor-quality fluorescent lights, which made the food look spoiled, consequently they were losing sales. There is now a dialogue between the food manufacturing, packaging designers and grocery stores to improve this problem.

Interior & Exterior Design: Light Affects the Perception of Color

Here’s my number one “Must Do” prior to creating any interior design project. Evaluate the lighting! If it’s of poor quality or a low CRI (and it generally is) I change it before making the final color selection. I’m so passionate about this that it’s written into in my contract, that the client uses the specified lighting. I never intended to get into the light bulb selling business. But the reality is poor lighting combined with Metamerism will kill beautiful designs.

Many professional lighting stores have areas with various test lamps set up, where you can evaluate your colors and finishes.

For interiors, don’t just lay the intended finishes, such as carpet, cabinets, fabric and paint on the floor. View them in their intended position; colors look different vertically and horizontally. The same goes for exteriors and be sure to select exterior colors outside.

Live with the colors for a few days; view them at different times of the day before making your final decision.

Color, Light & Your Health

Quality lighting not only helps increase sales, beautifies the colors in our interiors, it improves our health. Lighting with a higher Color Rendering Index makes us feel better and look healthier.

There are countless clinical studies showing that poor-quality lighting (primarily fluorescent) adversely affects our health.

Over-illumination or poorly designed spectral composition of light can cause headaches, stress, fatigue, anxiety, depression and difficulty consecrating. If that’s all not bad enough, poor lighting can even cause a decrease in sexual function.

The next time you’re out shopping for light bulbs, choose wisely because lighting affects every aspect of your colorful life.

Bio

Color Turners- turns the art of color into profit. Denise Turner is a high-energy, result-oriented marketing expert and colorist, who guides businesses and manufactures to grasp the importance of color to achieve greater success. She helps them, turn their knowledge into increased sales and customer satisfaction.

Color Makes a Difference in Corporate Identity Branding

Take the IBM blue, for example.  The company is often referred to as “Big Blue” and their supercomputer developed a few years ago to help study bimolecular phenomena was referred to as “Blue Gene.”  Would either of these pseudonyms have occurred without color branding?  In the IBM example, color not only served as an identifier, but also provided additional corporate color branding opportunity—an extensible brand!

Numerous research reports have confirmed why color matters in corporate identity branding.  Factors including engagement, success, recognition, and increased sales have all been attributed in part to color and the psychology behind colors. In consumer brand packaging alone, color can increase brand recognition by 80%, in addition to making your package stand out on a crowded retail shelf.

The Legalities of Branding Color

Before you rush out to trademark your signature color, keep in mind the function of color.  Function is often the key determinant in legal cases relative to color branding.  If the sole function of color is to identify the product source, then often courts will uphold a color trademark.  However, the esthetic aspect of color is usually not enough to uphold a trademark.

Then there’s the use of color name versus just the color itself.  If the color name in addition to the color itself is used, there may be trademark potential.  For example, Syracuse University uses the color orange in its sports apparel, but the team also shares the name orange.  The university registered a trademark on the word orange.

Although the application of color trademarks has held up in some U.S. courts of law, there are cases where branding color using a trademark has not held up in court.  This double-edged legal sword recognizes that color identity can receive trademark protection, but it also asserts that colors are finite and could put a competitor at a disadvantage.  So the functionality argument is still the litmus test for whether or not a color trademark can be obtained or upheld in a court of law.

Branding Color… Is Color Really Finite?

When it comes to color being finite, the late Albert H. Munsell would likely beg to differ.  His Munsell Color Space was not only scientifically based, but also visually grounded, making the color possibilities nearly limitless.  If you can imagine a color you can locate it within Munsell color space—especially given the three attributes of hue, value and chroma.  With varying degrees of each color attribute, you can create nearly limitless color possibilities.

In fact, that’s the beauty of Munsell Color Standards.  Your corporate color branding and product branding color can be standardized and the standards reproducible with precision that’s measurable using a spectrophotometer to within a difference that even the human eye cannot detect!  You can have a color customized to suite your brand identity or choose a color from the existing Munsell Book of Color.  Either way, your color will be made into standards that you can distribute to your vendors and suppliers.

Who knows, perhaps establishing a scientifically notated and consistently reproducible color will hold more weight in the legal system.  We’ll save that one for another post!

Contact Munsell to learn more about corporate branding color.

Top Ten Advantage of the Color Order System from Munsell

1. Loose and unrelated color terms are replaced by a definite notation.  (like having a street address vs. a PO Box)
2. New colors in no way disturb the orderly classification, as a place is already awaiting them. (fits today’s colors and tomorrow’s inspirations… sounds like color Heaven!)
3. Each color names itself by its degree of hue, value and chroma.  (self-service… now that’s progressive!)
4. Color may be easily and rapidly specified by direct perceptual comparison. (works the way your eyes do)
5. Each color can be recorded and transmitted by a simple code. (color communication made easy!)
6. Color contracts can be drawn and proved by psychophysical tests. (satisfies the legal community)
7. Color tolerances can be readily and meaningfully expressed. (let’s you have a back-up plan.)
8. Color grading of many agricultural and industrial products can be readily accomplished. (easily used directly in the field!)
9. Fading can be defined and plotted at certain intervals, showing its progress in quantitative terms.  (like color GPS!)
10. Specifications may be re-expressed in terms of the C.I.E. or any related system. (plug n’ play!)

Munsell’s color order system was truly ahead of its time!

Learn about Munsell’s 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd dimensions of color: the Munsell Color Wheel, the Munsell Color Value Scale and the Munsell Color Chroma Scale.

References:

Munsell, A.H.,  ed. 12, 1971, pg. 65. A Color Notation. Baltimore, MD:  Munsell Color Company.

Munsell Color Theory in Education

The true test of Munsell’s achievement came in June of 1900 when Myron T. Pritchard, master at the Everett Grammar School of Boston, Massachusetts, approached Munsell to develop a text book.  Pritchard wanted the book to be used by teachers to help them explain the Munsell Color System to students from grammar school to high school.    His two criteria were that the book be elementary, as for a child; and assume that the teacher is ignorant of color.  No problem for Munsell.  He had already spent the past ten years developing his color sphere, which was an integral part of the text book.

Munsell tells us in his color diary that Pritchard said of Munsell’s handbook that, “It is interesting – I am under obligation to you for a new view of color.” Pritchard also mentioned that he thought Munsell’s book was “a necessity in education.” (As it turns out, the Munsell Color System is still “a necessity” in color education today.)

Munsell’s “Hand-book of the Color Sphere”

Munsell believed that the color sphere was essential to teach accurate ideas of color value. To that end, he developed his “Hand-book of the Color Sphere” for teachers and their students to help train them on what Munsell calls “color sense” – understanding color names and their values.  The hand-book described the color sphere and its evolution and also explained the practical application of it using real world examples.

Perhaps the most valuable idea behind the Munsell Color Theory is the fact that his color sphere concept allows for nearly infinite colors, each of which can be easily imagined when you learn how the system works—much the way understanding how latitude and longitude lines of a globe can give you a general idea of geographic location.

The color sphere concept is still used today by Munsell Color, Division of X-Rite, to establish government and industry color standards and environmental color standards and to manufacture the Munsell Books of Color for color palette development and communication.  Munsell’s “Hand-book of the Color Sphere” along with lectures on Munsell Color Theory were precursors to Munsell’s AColor Notation.   The first edition was copyrighted a few years later in 1905, in which Munsell addressed his work in color education:

“The teacher’s skill is shown in searching out the simplest and most easily grasped facts; in finding not only an ‘easy door’ but the ‘right door’; in leading the children through the maze of color by steps so clearly understood and remembered that he will safely find his way along and not become confused.”

A Color Notation, A. H. Munsell, Munsell Color Company, Inc., 1971, pg. 45.

Albert Munsell Color Theory Gains Notoriety

Munsell continued to develop his color theory beyond the information provided in the handbook.  In fact, Munsell’s work had gained such notoriety that he earned the distinction of freely consulting with many of the era’s leading color theory gurus, including Professor Ogden Rood, a physicist from Columbia University who specialized in color theory; Professor Harry Clifford, Electrical Engineering department head at MIT; Professor Denman Ross of  Harvard specializing in art theory and history; and several other luminaries of art and science.

The Munsell Color System was the result of Munsell’s relentless persuit of a systematic and easy-to-use method of communicating and teaching color.  Thanks to input from scientists, artists and teachers, the system continues to provide color education and communication in academia, government and industry.

Learn about Munsell, Color Education Products – the fruits of Albert Munsell’s early labors, including Munsell’s color sphere, the model of which is now referred to as a “color tree.” (We’ll explain the origin of the “tree” concept in another post.)

References:

A. H. Munsell Color Diary, 1899-1918, Volume A, Part 2, pp 35-36. Courtesy of: Rochester Institute of Technology, Munsell Color Science Laboratory.

What Soil Color Reveals

Scientists use Munsell Soil Color Charts and Books to visually analyze the color of soil. Here’s how it works. At a very basic level, a cross section of soil indicates a darker color at the top level or surface horizon.  At this level, the soil color may appear darker.  Why?… because of organic matter such as plant roots and leaves that decompose into the soil causing a darker color.  As you examine soil color in the lower horizons of the cross section, you may notice a lighter color.  That’s because there’s less organic matter.

So What Does Soil Color Really Tell Us About the Composition of Soil?

The Soil Science Society of America tells us that “soils are complex mixtures of minerals, water, air and organic matter (both dead and alive), forming at the surface of land.”  The varying levels of minerals, water, etc. can affect the color of soil.

The color of soil helps agronomists understand soil composition and classify it so that farmers can produce optimum crops.  Soil color tells agronomists if soil is lacking essential nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

Analyzing the color of soil helps land planners easily identify if an area is fit for use.   Will the soil allow for proper drainage?  Will it allow too much runoff?  Is it suitable for building upon?  These are just a few of the questions soil color can help answer.

The color of soil is a quick, visible indicator that scientists use to determine everything from land use to soil conservation.  The Munsell Soil Color Book and Soil Color Charts accompany scientists in the field or in the laboratory to help them easily examine and classify soil based on color.

References

U.S.D.A. Natural Resources Conservation Service If you live in the U.S., this site will tell you all about your state’s soil.

Soil Science Society of America Excellent resource on soil, educational programs and more.

Dig It! The Secrets of Soil Perfect for children or adults interesting in learing about soil including the 12 soil orders found throughout the world.

Read New York Times blog post “Soil Samples and Peanut Butter” to see how scientist, Amanda Schmidt, is using Munsell Color Charts in the field.

Munsell said of his chroma attribute, “Flat diagrams showing hues and values, but omitting to define chromas, are as incomplete as would be a map of Switzerland with the mountains left out or a harbor chart without indications of the depths of the water.”  Color chroma was also the attribute that led to Munsell’s color tree.  Just as the tree branches run perpendicular to the trunk of the tree, so too does the chroma scale.  Color families (color hue) that approach the lightest and darkest parts of the neutral axis are less chromatic or saturated than their mid-value range counterparts. Using the tree metaphor, the “limbs” of less chromatic colors would not extend very far from the neutral axis or “trunk.”

Munsell’s Color Order System Was Built to Last

Munsell’s hue, value and chroma three-dimensional color order system not only made it easier to visualize color, but also the relationship of colors to each other.  This important distinction not only improves color communication, but also enables artists, designers and color technicians to properly harmonize color.

Another important distinction of Munsell’s color system is that it wasn’t limited to the color technology of the time.  The system was inherently designed to accommodate new and more highly pigmented colors as technological innovation occurred.  In fact, Munsell himself said, “It [Munsell Color Order System] includes and arranges all color sensations on a measured foundation, even providing for still stronger colors, should science discover them.”

A System of Color Rooted in Art and Science

So there you have it.  The Munsell Color Order System… where art and science intersect and standing right in the middle is Albert H. Munsell. His life’s work beautifully summarized in his own words:

The possibilities of the system are very great.  It possesses elements of simplicity and attractiveness.  It gives one almost unconsciously power of color discrimination.  It provides on only a rational color nomenclature, but also a system of scientific importance, and of practical value.

Color anarchy is replaced by systematic color description.

–Professor A.H. Munsell

Learn about the first two steps towards color order, “color wheel charts” and “color value scale.”

References:

Munsell, A.H., ed. 12, 1971. A Color Notation. Baltimore, MD:  Munsell Color Company.

The Munsell color system is a tool that I rely on to accurately identify colors in the field. In many cases it’s a basis on which I accurately locate an existing color or select a colorway design for a finish to be installed in the project.

Within a past corporate space design, I used the Munsell color system in many instances throughout the scope of the project to identify and select color. The clients had an existing graphic to represent their logo and wanted that color branding to be carried through a portion of the finishes, including paint. I used the Munsell color system to accurately identify the colors within their logo and had the color formula recreated in a Benjamin Moore paint.

Selecting a Color Palette to Streamline Costs

In the same project, I selected cafe chairs with metal finishes for the kitchen area. The finishes offered within the standard line of the specified chair did not comply with our created color palette. To resolve the limited finish selection, I used the Munsell color system to select a custom color for a metal powder coat that would be applied to our cafe chairs. Throughout the process, I was able to refer the clients to a color within the Munsell system and in turn they could refer to the precise color palette selection, leaving no room for question. This allowed for a smoother and more seamless color selection and design process, which affected the budget and the overall outcome of the project.

Bio:

Interior Designer, Jennifer Glickman, is the owner of Boston based design firm, Glickman Design Studio. She specializes in restaurant, residential, hospitality, and corporate design. Her clients include Todd English, Paul O’Connell and other talented Boston chefs. In addition, her residential work can be seen throughout New England. Her work has been featured in media including Benjamin Moore Nuance, StyleBoston, and Blog Talk Radio.

Munsell’s Neutral Value Color Scale Describes the Color Attribute of Light to Dark

The color value scale describes a color’s lightness or darkness.  Munsell visualized the color value scale as a vertical axis with white being at the top and black at the bottom of the value scale.  The Munsell value scale served as the basis for today’s neutral value scales used extensively in the photographic industry and for the calibration of color sensitive instruments such as spectrophotometers and colorimeters.

Munsell Neutral Value Scales served as the vertical axis for Munsell’s three-dimensional color space.  In his initial system it was comprised of ten steps from black to white—the progression logarithmic because Munsell wanted it to be rooted in scientific principles found in the Weber-Fechner law. Today’s Munsell Neutral Value Color Scales include up to 37 steps.

Munsell surrounded the neutral value scale with the hue circle.  Progress… now Munsell has a two dimensional means for communicating color.  But even two dimensions were not effective enough for A.H. Munsell, prompting him to develop the 3^rd dimension—chroma.

Munsell believed that, much like music has a system by which each sound is described in terms of pitch, intensity and duration; color could also be organized by three dimensions.  Value is the second dimension and another step away from color anarchy.  Learn about Munsell’s 1^st and 3^rd dimensions:  the Munsell Color Wheel and the Munsell Color Chroma Scale.

References:

Munsell, A.H.,  ed. 12, 1971. A Color Notation. Baltimore, MD:  Munsell Color Company.

But what really kept Munsell awake at night was color anarchy—using poetic terms to describe color such as baby blue, lemon yellow, and many more—yet failing to effectively communicate color.  In fact, Munsell references Robert Lewis Stevenson, one of the greatest writers of the time, as having difficulty describing the color he wanted in his “Vailima Letters” (Circa 1890, page 94) where Stevenson refers to “A topazy yellow” and a red that is neither Turkish nor Roman nor Indian. Huh?…

The Color Wheel Chart:  A Step Away From Color Anarchy

The consummate educator, Munsell was confounded by the lack of effectiveness when communicating color beyond the basic red, orange, yellow, green, etc.; especially when teaching color.  That’s when Munsell went back to his artist roots to develop the Munsell color wheel or color hue circle.

Color Wheel Revolutionizes Color Communication

The hue circle was based on the artist’s concept of complementary colors with red at the 12:00 o’clock position followed by orange, yellow, green, etc., which  was also based on the scientific principles of the visible spectrum.  Remember 5th grade science and ROY G BIV?  The Munsell color wheel uses the same order except placed in a circle, which Munsell refers to as the “hue circle.” Any three colors separated by 120 degrees in the hue circle form a complementary trio such as red, green and blue.

Taken a step further, the color wheel chart was further segmented into units where the primary colors were 10 units apart.  So red and yellow were separated by 10 units and in between—at five units—was orange/yellow.  Another 10 units separated yellow from green and at five units between yellow and green was green/yellow, etc. all around the color wheel.  Each color was described by Munsell as a “hue family.”  Now we’re talking color!  But for Munsell, the color wheel wasn’t enough to adequately communicate color.

Munsell believed that, much like music has a system by which each sound is described in terms of pitch, intensity and duration; color could also be organized by three dimensions.  Hue is the first dimension and a big step away from color anarchy.  Remember…  it’s only the late 1800′s, so this is truly remarkable work—enough to  make you velocipede pop a “color wheelie.”

Learn about Munsell’s 2^nd and 3^rd dimensions: Munsell Color Value Scale and Munsell Color Chroma Scale.

References:

Munsell, A.H., ed. 12, 1971. A Color Notation. Baltimore, MD:  Munsell  Color Company.