Help: Color Matching

What is Color Matching?

Color Hints can assist you in finding coordinating colors. There are several well known matching schemes that are provided by Color Hints. Color matching topics include:

Getting started

From elsewhere in Color Hints, choose a color to match with a tap or long press on that color. You will be presented with a large display of that single color.

color sample screenshot

A Color Sample

Tapping Color Match will cause Color Hints to find colors that coordinate with the current color. The color matching scheme can be changed by double tapping the color wheel. However, the size and orientation of the matching scheme cannot be altered.

Choosing a matching scheme

The color matching scheme is a shape (triangle, rectangle, etc.) drawn on the color wheel. Choose a matching scheme by double tapping the color wheel. Choose a matching scheme from the list of schemes that appears. The new matching scheme will appear with its base point (represented by a square) at the same point on the color wheel as the previous matching scheme. Currently Color Hints provides eleven (11) matching schemes.

color match patterns

Choosing a Matching Scheme

Saving Color Match results as a Palette

Use the Save as palette button to create a new palette based on the selected matching scheme.Choose a palette collection to add the new palette to, or tap the + to create a new palette collection.

saving matched colors as a palette

Saving the Color Match as a Palette

Limitations of color matching

Color matching is achieved by first finding the selected color on the color wheel. Finding neutral colors - white, black and grays will not work. In general, most colors will coordinate with a neutral color. If you try to color match a neutral, Color Hints will note that and present a bit of text describing this fact.

A color wheel presents a very limited sample of the colors that exist in the world. An obvious example is the lack of browns showing on a standard color wheel. To match colors Color Hints will bias the color wheel until a spot on the color wheel is equal to the sample color. The biasing occurs by adding (or subtracting) red, green and blues. Color Hints limits this biasing to +/- 30%. In some cases, a bias of more than 30% is required to match colors. In these cases, the matching colors may not be accurate.

The bias values used can be seen by editing palettes saved from color matching.