1. A method for merit-based gamut mapping, the method comprising: defining a plurality of clusters in a color space wherein each cluster has at least one color point; associating at least one gamut mapping function with each cluster, each gamut mapping function defining a point within a target gamut corresponding to the respective color point within each respective cluster; associating at least one merit function with each cluster, the merit function determining at least one merit function value; optimizing the gamut mapping function for each respective cluster based on the determined merit function value; blending, after the optimizing, gamut mapping functions of adjacent clusters; and outputting, after the optimizing, at least one composite gamut mapping function comprising the gamut mapping function for each respective cluster within the plurality of clusters.