RAL Design System plus — hue 150

The series only begins at L\* 30. Unlike 160, 170 and 180, which continue down to L\* 20, 150 offers no very dark shades: the darkest is 150 30 30, Mountain green, with an LRV of 9.3. That is a factual limit of the system, not a choice on the user's part.

In practice that means a limitation for the classic dark exterior green. If you are looking for fencing, a frame or a door in the deep painted green customary in the Netherlands — the area of RAL 6009 fir green — you will not find it here, but one hue further on. If the work calls for a mid-dark green with a herbal, earthy undertone, this is the area.

With saturation up to C\* 60, 150 reaches further than 170 (55) and 180 (50). The strongest shade, 150 50 60, is called Cold green, and that name is illuminating: as soon as you raise the saturation in this area, the green becomes not friendlier but sharper.

All 35 colours in this group

RAL 150 30 10 — Thyme greenView RAL 150 30 10 →RAL 150 30 20 — Moselle greenView RAL 150 30 20 →RAL 150 30 30 — Mountain greenView RAL 150 30 30 →RAL 150 40 10 — Felt greenView RAL 150 40 10 →RAL 150 40 20 — Firm greenView RAL 150 40 20 →RAL 150 40 30 — Genever greenView RAL 150 40 30 →RAL 150 40 40 — Ink greenView RAL 150 40 40 →RAL 150 40 50 — Ireland greenView RAL 150 40 50 →RAL 150 50 10 — Sage green greyView RAL 150 50 10 →RAL 150 50 20 — Korean mintView RAL 150 50 20 →RAL 150 50 30 — Field greenView RAL 150 50 30 →RAL 150 50 40 — Celery greenView RAL 150 50 40 →RAL 150 50 50 — Rich greenView RAL 150 50 50 →RAL 150 50 60 — Cold greenView RAL 150 50 60 →RAL 150 60 10 — Pointed cabbage greenView RAL 150 60 10 →RAL 150 60 20 — Orient greenView RAL 150 60 20 →RAL 150 60 30 — Rosemary greenView RAL 150 60 30 →RAL 150 60 40 — Mosaic greenView RAL 150 60 40 →RAL 150 60 50 — Bouncy ball greenView RAL 150 60 50 →RAL 150 60 60 — Energy greenView RAL 150 60 60 →RAL 150 70 10 — Tea greenView RAL 150 70 10 →RAL 150 70 20 — Liebermann greenView RAL 150 70 20 →RAL 150 70 30 — Oilcloth greenView RAL 150 70 30 →RAL 150 70 40 — Jade stone greenView RAL 150 70 40 →RAL 150 70 50 — Verdigris colouredView RAL 150 70 50 →RAL 150 80 10 — Organza greenView RAL 150 80 10 →RAL 150 80 20 — Pastel mint greenView RAL 150 80 20 →RAL 150 80 30 — Bright greenView RAL 150 80 30 →RAL 150 80 40 — Mother-of-pearl greenView RAL 150 80 40 →RAL 150 85 05 — Asparagus whiteView RAL 150 85 05 →RAL 150 85 10 — Transparent whiteView RAL 150 85 10 →RAL 150 85 20 — Pallid greenView RAL 150 85 20 →RAL 150 90 05 — Mineral whiteView RAL 150 90 05 →RAL 150 90 10 — Alabaster greenView RAL 150 90 10 →RAL 150 93 05 — Quark whiteView RAL 150 93 05 →

More about hue 150

That fits how saturation works. Of the three colour attributes it determines almost entirely how lively, dynamic and eye-catching a surface looks. In this hue you therefore have more range than in the pure green — and with it more risk. A saturated surface of this type at office or classroom wall size is tiring; on an accent surface, a machine cover or a detail in a sports floor it works.

The majority of the shades lie in the muted part: saturation 10 to 30, across the whole lightness scale. That is the usable heart of this hue. Shades such as 150 60 20 Orient green, 150 70 10 Tea green and 150 80 10 Organza green are greens that colour a space without the colour announcing itself — and at an LRV of 30.9, 42.6 and 58.7 there is ample light left in the space as well.

At the light edge it narrows quickly. The lightest shade, 150 93 05 Quark white with LRV 83.0, barely reads as a colour on a large surface; it does, however, make a space noticeably cooler than a neutral white of the same lightness.

With an average hue angle of 157 degrees, this green still has a trace of yellow in it. That makes it usable next to warm materials: next to oak, larch or a warm brick a shade from 150 does not jar, where a blue-green from 200 does. Next to cold concrete the opposite happens — there the green gains yellow and can unintentionally read as olive.

On large surfaces, expect the yellow component to play a part over time as well. Light shades with a yellow-green direction yellow along with the binder, so that the colour slowly shifts towards 140. On interior work in rooms with little daylight that is most noticeable.

Within this hue, choose the lightness first and the saturation second; that is the order in which the eye judges a green. Place the candidate next to the material that will sit beside it, and not on a white table — a green on white always reads more saturated than the same green in situ. For approval, use the A4 colour samples as the colour standard; a fan-deck sample is too small to assess a green reliably.

Technical data

Hue: 150 · Shades: 35 · Lightness: L\* 30–93 · Saturation: C\* 05–60 · Lab values: per shade on the colour page · LRV: 9.3 to 83.0 · Included in: RAL D4 A4 colour samples (colour standard), RAL D2 fan deck, RAL D3 colour book, RAL D4 atlas, RAL D6 and D8 boxes

Neighbouring hues

RAL Design 140, RAL Design 160

Loose colour samples from this group

Click a colour for the available formats, or see the full product range in the shop.

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