A journey of discovery and learning…

In the late ‘90s, the 12-tone color analysis system was put on the global map after the foundation of Sci\ART Global LLC by Kathryn Kalisz. Kathryn invested her life in the research and development of color and its effect on us. With a background as an artist, she had inspirational methods to teach her knowledge to color analysis students.

In 2009, Nikki was trained by Kathryn Kalisz to be a color analyst. Following the tragic death of Kathryn Kalisz in 2010 those that had trained and worked with her world-renowned 12-tone color analysis system, struggled to survive without her vision, guidance, and resources.

In 2011, with the Sci\ART color analysis businesses in turmoil, Nikki was presented with an unexpected opportunity to purchase all the fabric that had been carefully collected over many years by Kathryn Kalisz to make drape sets for her students. At the time it was hard to estimate the quantity and quality, of what had been acquired. When Nikki began to compile drape sets, from a room stacked high in fabric, it became evident that it was in a poor condition having been stored, untouched, in a garage since Kathryn’s death.  Nikki painstakingly went through every piece of fabric, assigned it to its correct seasonal tone, and had each piece of fabric refinished.  These drapes are part of the heritage of the Sci\ART color analysis system and Nikki felt they should be protected and made available again. For more information on purchasing these drapes, please contact PrismXII.

As Nikki’s color analysis business grew, she struggled to find accurate, affordable color palettes to provide to her clients. With a burning desire to finally unlock the code of the Munsell colors used in each of the Sci\ART 12 seasonal tones, Nikki looked to further develop her research into the color space. The Munsell color space is created using Hue, Value, and Chroma as the dimensions of each of the colors. It seemed logical that there would be a set of unique measurements for each of the 12 tones level of Hue, Value, and Chroma that could be matched to provide a balanced collection of colors - it is the principle on which the Sci\ART system was created. Reproducing these colors accurately was a challenge for everyone – color analysts, graphic designers, and printers.

It took many years of research. Nikki faced many frustrations and countless experiments that were failures, but Nikki never gave up the belief that it was possible. Finally, in 2014 Nikki discovered a color scientist who could help enable her to print accurate Munsell colors directly on a photo printer. For the first time, Nikki was able to create color guides that were printed in perfectly balanced Munsell color palettes that represented the Sci\ART system accurately. The advance in technology, digital printers and the inks used now allows for any of the 1,500 or more of the Munsell Standard [1943] notations to be reproduced precisely.

Each of the palette’s colors has been measured using a Spectrophotometer to confirm their consistent dimensions in Hue, Value, and Chroma. Prism XII is proud to produce the most accurate color products for the 12 seasonal tone color analysis system.