Announcing Swatcher

Posted on 2013-06-21 by Jan Vantomme
Tags: software development

Last week, I launched Swatcher, a new iPhone app to create color palettes on the move. I made the first prototype a few years ago, but never released it because it didn't feel right. You had to take a picture first, and create the palette based on it. It simply was not possible to use a live video at that time, since the iPhone 3G didn't have support for it. Now that smartphones have more power, I revisited the idea, and made a new app based on my first idea.

Swatcher Palette maker and Swatcher Palette Library.

The app has limited features. You can save up to 16 palettes on an iPhone 4 / 4S and up to 20 on the larger screen phones and iPods. As a designer using the app, you have to be careful about which palettes you keep. However, you can make a backup of the swatches with iTunes if you want to keep them and start over again.

I'm working on a desktop app now to open the *.swatcher files and convert them to a format that can be used with the Adobe Creative Suite. The file format the app uses is XML-based, so you can open it in any text editor.

Swatcher was built with openFrameworks. On the Swatcher website, I've used ProcessingJS to recreate parts of the app so you can test it before you buy the app. It works with a static photo, rather than the camera, but you can get the idea of how the app works.

To celebrate the release of the app, here are some promo codes you can use in the App Store. Be quick to use them. Enjoy!

  • MF436PAXYAXL
  • 6XLWTFLWNHWR
  • MP3X3FK6XW64
  • JH3KYRLT4K4R
  • HA79JMFAA6NW

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