Although colour research can be traced back to the work of Forsius in 1611, Swedish research into colour began in the 1920's and was based on the ideas published by the German physiologist, Ewald Hering, in his 1874 work Das natürliche System der Farbempfindungen. Based on the requirements of the colour user and on the human perception of colour the research, which took place in Sweden, resulted in NCS - Natural Colour System®©.
While the colour research in Sweden was in its infancy a Swedish Colour School was initiated, a step which bought together many well-known architects and designers to research, develop and explore the possibilities of using and communicating colour. The research continued for more than ten years, moving closer towards the goal of creating a visually descriptive colour system. Led by Dr Anders Hård in conjunction with other renowned colour experts including Dr Lars Sivik and Professor Gunnar Tonnquist, the research of the Swedish Colour Centre Foundation would eventually result in the Natural Colour System.
The group was approached by the largest paint company in Sweden with this in mind and, consequently, Dr Anders Hård was commissioned to investigate the production of a ‘colour system’. It was quickly decided that, rather than to undertake the research for a single company, this research was more beneficial to the paint industry as a whole and the Swedish Colour Center Foundation was formed as an amalgamation of Form and the Royal Academy of Swedish Scientists. The newly-formed group's studies and research was sponsored by the state together with a number of larger manufacturing companies. The goal of the research was to create a scientifically based, fully documented colour notation system and accurate colour samples to support the system. Together with Dr Tonnquist, enlisted to help develop the coding system and Dr Sivik, a psychologist who led research into the emotional responses of colour, Hård and his team invested 15 years and 100 man-years of research which finally resulted in the first NCS Atlas.
In 1979, a year after the Scandinavian Colour Institute AB was established, NCS – Natural Colour System®© was officially launched as a ‘product’ and was taken immediately as a Swedish National Standard for colour. The month following the launch saw turnover triple and continue to build feverishly. By the time NCS turned five it became necessary to begin to export NCS in order to be able to satisfy the demand and expand the operation to be able to do so. Orders from designers in Switzerland, Denmark, Norway and companies such as ICI, Sigma Kaylon, Jotun, Alcro Beckers and Akzo Nobel proved that notion to export was a shrewd one and the continued success of NCS enabled the Scandinavian Colour Institute to continue to build its presence as a globally recognised authority on colour and colour communication.
In 1995 SCI took decisive action to the dangers posed to our environment and removed cadmium and lead from its colour samples and released the second edition of NCS colour tools in 2004, introducing in the process 200 new colours into its standardised collection (as a result of demand from many leading international paint companies). NCS 1950 Original, as the new edition was named, was set to adhere to an even greater level of accuracy, further reinforcing its status as the world’s most accurate colour system.
Until 2006, the Scandinavian Colour Institute AB was owned by Målarmästarna, the trade association of the Swedish Painting Contractors. Today it is a privately owned company and operates under the name NCS Colour AB.
NCS is a national standard for colour in Sweden, Norway, Spain and South Africa, has more than 100 employees throughout the world, has extensive international distribution and is used by hundreds of thousands of individuals and companies in over 60 countries. Of sales, 84% is made from exports and has seen an overall increase of 13% annually since 1995. 61% rendered during the last four years with a further projected growth of 28%.