myPANTONE

IT’S NOT YOUR FATHER’S PANTONE COLOR GUIDE

If you’ve been a designer for any length of time, you’ve probably owned everything from Pantone Color Guides to the Pantone Color Cue. Now, there’s the myPANTONE app for the iPhone and iPod touch.

The idea of having Pantone color libraries on your phone is cool, and myPANTONE is simple, user friendly, and allows you to create color palettes that you can share via email, the Web, or post directly to Twitter or Facebook. It’s great for collaborative projects or presenting clients with color options.

Here’s what I like best: Imagine walking by an Italian bistro where you spot a patterned tablecloth. Launch myPANTONE and take a picture. The Auto-extraction feature will create a color palette based on the colors in the image. You can use that palette in the travel brochure you’ve been working on, or to redecorate your kitchen.

Just as useful is the View in Layout feature. View and move color swatches over wood, marble, or any image. Fashion designers, interior decorators, and graphic designers alike will love this feature. It’s a bit hidden (in with the email options) and could be located on the main menu.

PANTONE is synonymous with color accuracy, but don’t expect myPANTONE to be. There are too many variables that aren’t the fault of the app. If your iPhone display is really bright or if your images are dark, the app will read and display the colors that way. myPANTONE does display RGB, LAB, and HTML color builds, so you can reference those to get the exact color you want.

Some might argue that $10 is pricey, but considering what we spend on color specifiers, myPANTONE is a bargain. Now, if I could only tear those little color chips off my iPhone.—Felix Nelson

Company: PANTONE
Price: $9.99
Web: www.pantone.com
Rating: 3.5

Hot: Quick, customizable color palettes
Not: Color accuracy