HilloColor Help
Use this guide to shape palettes by touch, manage colors and understand every menu in HilloColor on iPhone and iPad.
Getting started
HilloColor presents a palette as large color fields. Tap and drag directly on a color instead of opening sliders. Drag left or right with one finger to adjust hue. Drag up or down with one finger to adjust saturation. Drag up or down with two fingers to adjust lightness.
The first movement decides whether a one-finger gesture controls hue or saturation. This helps prevent diagonal finger movement from changing both accidentally. Tap a color without dragging to reveal its values and actions.
Color actions
When a color is selected, HilloColor shows its name, values and action icons. X removes the color, Copy duplicates it, Arrow moves it one position, Star saves it to Favorite Colors and Expand opens the color full screen.
A palette always keeps at least one color and can contain up to seven colors.
Color values
Tap the visible values of a selected color to open Color Values. You can enter exact HEX, RGB or HSL values, choose which formats are shown on palette colors and copy any value with the copy icon.
Display choices apply to every color, not only the selected one. All formats can be hidden, leaving only the color name. HilloColor assigns descriptive color names, and saved favorites can have custom names with an option to use that name in palettes.
Bottom dock
The bottom dock opens the main menus. From left to right: Color Palettes, Favorite Colors, Color Picker, Export, Effects, Lighting and Music. Tap an active menu icon again to close it. The ? button inside a menu opens contextual tips.
Color Palettes
Tap a palette to open it. Tap + to name and save the current palette. Swipe left on your own palette to reveal Rename and Delete. Seasonal palettes are curated by HilloColor, update automatically and the latest seasonal collection is cached for offline use.
Opening another palette replaces the current canvas, so save unfinished work first.
Favorite Colors
Select a color on the canvas and tap its star to save it. Give the favorite a personal name, and enable Use name in palettes if that name should replace HilloColor's standard color name.
Tap a favorite to add it to the current palette. Swipe left on your own favorite to rename or delete it.
Color Picker
Tap the image icon to choose a photo, image file or camera source. Touch or drag across the image to sample colors. The preview field shows the sampled color and its values.
Tap + to add the sampled color to the palette or tap the star to save it as a favorite. Without an image, the picker opens with a color from the seasonal collection.
Export and iCloud
HilloColor can export an editable .hillocolor file for backup or transfer, a HilloColor Link for the public web viewer, visual SVG and PNG exports, and TXT or CSS values for documents, design tools and code.
iCloud Sync synchronizes personal palettes and favorite colors between the user's Apple devices. Seasonal content is not stored in the user's iCloud library, so it can remain independently updateable by HilloColor. For Messages, sharing a HilloColor Link is more reliable than the custom file format.
Effects
Harmonize Color pulls hues toward or away from a shared hue. Harmonize Saturation pulls saturation levels toward or away from their average. Harmonize Lightness does the same for lightness values.
Harmonize adjustments are previews until Apply is pressed. Reset clears the preview adjustments. Shadows adds visual depth only, and Animation enables slow breathing movement only. Shadows and Animation never alter saved color values.
Lighting
Lighting compares two conditions: My Environment, where the palette is currently being viewed, and Target Environment, where the colors may be used. Adjust temperature from warm to cool in Kelvin, and light level from dim interiors to full sun in lux.
Use the switch to compare the original palette and the lighting preview. Lighting is an illustrative visual approximation, not a colorimeter or a substitute for physical samples. It does not alter the palette's saved HEX, RGB or HSL values.
Music
Tap the music-note icon to start or stop the included ambient music. Playback and stopping fade smoothly. Music is optional and does not affect palette data.