RAL DESIGN System

  • The Origin

    In the last few years, there has been an increasing demand for a more comprehensive colour system than RAL CLASSIC, which, at 210 colours, is relatively limited, on the one hand, and lacks a systematic approach, on the other hand. So, the RAL DESIGN System with 1,688 systematically arranged colour tones was introduced in 1993.

  • The System

    The RAL DESIGN system is based on the CIELAB colour space. It is defined colorimetrically and arranged according to colour coordinates. The colour name indicates the exact coordinates in the HLC colour space. Every RAL DESIGN colour is thus very easy to find since the colour name already specifies the exact colour definition.

    The HLC coordinates are linear conversions of the CIELAB coordinates L*a*b.

  • The Colour Names

    The colour name is composed of the three coordinates H, L, C.

    • The first value (hue) indicates the angle in the colour wheel (in the RAL DESIGN atlas, the value also indicates the page on which the colour can be found).

    • The second value indicates the brightness (lightness). In the atlas, this is the line in which the colour can be found.

    • The third value (chroma) determines the saturation. This determines the column in which the colour can be found.

    The coordinate specification in the name of the colours allows any colour manufacture all over the world to reproduce a RAL DESIGN colour precisely – even without a colour sample.

  • Intermediate Shades

    Not only the colour tones depicted in the atlas are available, but also any shade in between. You only need to indicate the desired coordinates (intermediate values).

  • The Quality

    All colour samples have a high quality standard. The pigments correspond to the highest authenticity standard demanded by the paint industry. The colour samples will fade only under extreme conditions.