An Overview of the Munsell Color System

The prominent theory applied to interior design is the Munsell theory. Albert Munsell, an American colorist, devised a method by which color could be numerically quantified; the goal being precise and consistent application of color as well as uniformity within the color industry. There are other color theorists who influence interior design today, such as M.E. Chevreul and Josef Albers, but it is Munsell's theory, his system, that continues to play a more important role.

Albert Munsell (1858-1918) in his profession as a colorist was frustrated by the seemingly inefficient method of identifying colors by giving them names such as celery or sand. He devised a system by which each color could be categorized by number to identify not only the hue, but the specific value and intensity of that color.

The primary colors in the Munsell method are red, yellow, green, blue and purple. His system, then, builds on the hue, value and intensity -or chroma- of a color based on the ratio of mix using the primary colors.

The Role of Hue in the Munsell System
Hue is the color itself. In the Munsell system, a primary hue is assigned the number 5. Red, for example, is 5R.

Building on the color wheel model, the color between red and yellow would be red-yellow. Of course, there is a wide range of hues that result from mixing red and yellow. Each of these resulting colors is assigned a number, based on the ratio of color mix. This results in each color, no matter the mix, being assigned a specific number that relates back to the primary numbers.

The Role of Value
This quality of a color is defined by the lightness or darkness of the color in relation to its neutral zone. For example, the color yellow in a natural state is a light color. Munsell assigns such a color the value of 8. Each primary color has a value: Purple is 3; Red is 4; Blue is 5; Green is 6; Yellow is 8.

Value is best understood in terms of black and white. Black is valued at zero while white is valued at 10: The lighter a color, the higher the value number in the Munsell system.

What is Chroma
Chroma is best described as intensity. A pure red, for example, would have a dark brilliance to it, where a yellow would be more lightweight in its intensity.

Munsell quantifies the intensity of a color with a numbering system ranging from 1 to 16, with the higher numbers indicating a closer proximity to purity of light in the primary color. For example, a light yellow hue may be identified as a 12 on this scale if it has just a bit of dark valued color mixed in to lessen its intensity.

Such a color may be specifically identified as 5Y 8/12 using the Munsell method. It identifies a pure yellow (5Y) of light value (8) with a hint of the complimentary color purple (identified by its value in the mix as 12).

Professional Use of the Munsell System
For high-end designers working in commercial environments or on projects where colors must be precise throughout applications, such an exacting theory of colorization works well. These designers will have in their tool box a three dimensional model of Munsell's color wheel, each page of the model identifying each color with a combination of numbers.

For home hobbyists, such a theory is likely to be overcomplicated and unnecessary. But they can take from it the basic notions of colors having properties other than resembling the color of sand or celery.

Resource:
Interiors, An Introduction; Karla J. Nielson, David A. Taylor; 2002