interactive munsell space



Munsell hue, value and chroma can be varied independently so that all colors can be arranged according to the three attributes in a three-dimensional space. The neutral colors are placed along a vertical line, called the "neutral axis," with black at the bottom, white at the top, and all grays in between. The different hues are displayed at various angles around the neutral axis. The chroma scale is perpendicular to the axis, increasing outward. This three-dimensional arrangement of colors is called the "Munsell color space." The relationship of the three scales in three-dimensional space is illustrated above.


Schematic diagram of the three axes of the Munsell color system

Professor Albert H. Munsell, a painter and the inventor of the daylight photometer, was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 6th, 1858 and died June 28th, 1918 at age 60. Author of A Color Notation (1905) and the Atlas of the Munsell Color System (1915). Both an artist of distinction and a gifted teacher of art, he developed the first widely-accepted color order system to make the description of color accurate and convenient and to aid in the teaching of color. The Munsell color order system has gained international acceptance and has served as the foundation for other color order systems.