Replace indigo with purple in ROYGBIV to create the ROYBPV categorisation.
The Government should officially recognise purple instead of indigo in the traditional ROYGBIV colour sequence taught in schools and used in public educational materials.Indigo is outdated and extremely confusing, it no longer reflects how colour is perceived in modern education, design or science.
Signatures
6
signatures
Government response threshold (10,000) · 6/10,000
Debate threshold (100,000) · 6/100,000
- 10 NOV 2025Petition rejectedirrelevant
The Department for Education does not prescribe specific acronyms like ROYGBIV in statutory guidance.
- 05 OCT 2025Petition created
Background
The ROYGBIV model - Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet-was defined by Newton in the 17th century, yet indigo is arbitrary and outdated. The distinction between indigo and purple is woefully ambiguous.
Modern education and design recognise purple as the true bridge between blue and violet.
Retaining indigo causes cases of chromatic confusion. We urge the Department for Education to replace indigo with purple, forming the clearer ROYGPV Spectrum.