A lightweight, yet powerful, color framework for iOS (Objective-C & Swift)

pod 'ChameleonFramework/Swift', :git => 'https://github.com/ViccAlexander/Chameleon.git'

use_frameworks!

pod 'ChameleonFramework'

use_frameworks!

pod 'ChameleonFramework/Swift'

github "ViccAlexander/Chameleon"

#import <ChameleonFramework/Chameleon.h>

import ChameleonFramework

import Chameleon

#import "Chameleon.h"

self.view.backgroundColor = [UIColor flatGreenColorDark];

view.backgroundColor = UIColor.flatGreenDark

self.view.backgroundColor = FlatGreenDark;

view.backgroundColor = FlatGreenDark()

self.view.backgroundColor = [UIColor flatGreenColor];

view.backgroundColor = UIColor.flatGreen

self.view.backgroundColor = FlatGreen;

view.backgroundColor = FlatGreen()

self.view.backgroundColor = [UIColor randomFlatColor];

view.backgroundColor = UIColor.randomFlat

self.view.backgroundColor = RandomFlatColor;

view.backgroundColor = RandomFlatColor()

[UIColor colorWithRandomFlatColorOfShadeStyle:UIShadeStyleLight];

UIColor(randomFlatColorOfShadeStyle:.Light)

RandomFlatColorWithShade(UIShadeStyleLight);

RandomFlatColorWithShade(.Light)

[UIColor colorWithRandomColorInArray:@[FlatWhite, FlatRed, FlatBlue]];

TBA

RandomFlatColorInArray(@[FlatWhite, FlatRed, FlatBlue]) 

TBA

[UIColor colorWithRandomFlatColorExcludingColorsInArray:@[FlatBlack, FlatBlackDark, FlatGray, FlatGrayDark, FlatWhite, FlatWhiteDark]];

TBA

RandomFlatColorExcluding(@[FlatBlack, FlatBlackDark, FlatGray, FlatGrayDark, FlatWhite, FlatWhiteDark]) 

TBA

[UIColor colorWithComplementaryFlatColorOf:(UIColor *)someUIColor];

UIColor(complementaryFlatColorOf:someUIColor)

ComplementaryFlatColorOf(color);

ComplementaryFlatColorOf(color)

[UIColor colorWithContrastingBlackOrWhiteColorOn:(UIColor *)backgroundColor isFlat:(BOOL)flat];

UIColor(contrastingBlackOrWhiteColorOn:UIColor!, isFlat:Bool)

ContrastColor(backgroundColor, isFlat);

ContrastColor(backgroundColor, isFlat)

[(UIColor *)color flatten];

UIColor.pink.flatten()

[UIColor colorWithGradientStyle:(UIGradientStyle)gradientStyle withFrame:(CGRect)frame andColors:(NSArray<UIColor *> *)colors];

Swift

UIColor(gradientStyle:UIGradientStyle, withFrame:CGRect, andColors:[UIColor])

Chameleon Shorthand:

Objective-C

GradientColor(gradientStyle, frame, colors);

Swift

GradientColor(gradientStyle, frame, colors)

Objective-C Note: If you use the Chameleon Shorthand, and use the NSArray literal @[] to set the array of colors, make sure you add parenthesis around it, or else you’ll get an error.

Note: UIGradientStyleRadial only uses a maximum of 2 colors at the moment. So if more colors are provided, they will not show.

Hex Colors

One of the most requested features, hex colors, is now available. You can simply provide a hex string with or without a # sign:

Normal Convention:

Objective-C

[UIColor colorWithHexString:(NSString *)string];

Swift

UIColor(hexString:string)

Chameleon Shorthand:

Objective-C

HexColor(hexString)

Swift

HexColor(hexString)

Hex Values

Retrieving the hexValue of a UIColor is just as easy.

Objective-C

[FlatGreen hexValue]; //Returns @"2ecc71"

Swift

FlatGreen.hexValue //Returns @"2ecc71"

Lighter and Darker Colors

Sometimes all you need is a color a shade lighter or a shade darker. Well for those rare, but crucial moments, Chameleon’s got you covered. You can now lighten any color the following way:

Normal Convention:

Objective-C

[color lightenByPercentage:(CGFloat)percentage];

Swift

color.lightenByPercentage(percentage: CGFloat)

You can also generate a darker version of a color:

Normal Convention:

Objective-C

[color darkenByPercentage:(CGFloat)percentage];

Swift

color.darkenByPercentage(percentage: CGFloat)

Colors From Images

Chameleon now supports the extraction of colors from images. You can either generate both flat and non-flat color schemes from an image, or easily extract the average color.

To generate a color scheme simply do the following:

Normal Convention:

Objective-C

[NSArray arrayOfColorsFromImage:(UIImage *)image withFlatScheme:(BOOL)flatScheme];

Swift (Array extension missing)

NSArray(ofColorsFromImage: UIImage, withFlatScheme: Bool)

Chameleon Shorthand:

Objective-C

ColorsFromImage(image, isFlatScheme)

Swift

ColorsFromImage(image, isFlatScheme)

To extract the average color from an image, you can also do:

Normal Convention:

Objective-C

[UIColor colorWithAverageColorFromImage:(UIImage *)image];

Swift

UIColor(averageColorFromImage: UIImage)

Chameleon Shorthand:

Objective-C

AverageColorFromImage(image)

Swift

AverageColorFromImage(image)

UIStatusBarStyle Methods

Contrasting UIStatusBarStyle

Many apps on the market, even the most popular ones, overlook this aspect of a beautiful app: the status bar style. Chameleon has done something no other framework has… it has created a new status bar style: UIStatusBarStyleContrast. Whether you have a ViewController embedded in a NavigationController, or not, you can do the following:

Normal Convention:

Objective-C

[self setStatusBarStyle:UIStatusBarStyleContrast];

Swift

self.setStatusBarStyle(UIStatusBarStyleContrast)

Note: Make sure that the key View controller-based status bar appearance in Info.plist is set to YES.

Color Schemes Methods

Note: Due to the limited number of flat colors currently available, color schemes may return results that reuse certain flat colors. Because of this redundancy, we have provided an option to return either a flat color scheme or a non-flat color scheme until more flat colors are added to the inventory.

The initial color can be either a non-flat color or flat color. Chameleon will return an NSArray of 5 UIColors in which the original color will be the third object of the scheme. This allows for Chameleon to designate the colors of the color scheme (2 colors counter-clockwise and 2 clockwise from the initial color), and thus, the chosen colors are aligned specifically in that order.

Analogous Color Scheme

An analogous color scheme uses three adjacent colors on the color wheel. According to Wikipedia, it’s best used with either warm or cool colors, creating a cohesive collection with certain temperature qualities as well as proper color harmony; however, this particular scheme lacks contrast and is less vibrant than complementary schemes. Within the scheme, choose one color to dominate and two to support. The remaining two colors should be used (along with black, white or gray) as accents.

Complementary Color Scheme

A complementary color scheme uses opposite colors on the color wheel. To put into slightly more technical terms, they are two colors that, when combined, produce a neutral color. Complementary colors are tricky to use extensively, but work well when you want a point of emphasis. Complementary colors are generally not favorable to use for text.

Triadic Color Scheme

A triadic scheme uses evenly spaced colors on the color wheel. The colors tend to be richly vivid and offer a higher degree of contrast while, at the same time, retain color harmony. Let one color dominate and use the two others for accent.

Getting Colors in a Color Scheme

To retrieve an array of colors, first make sure to initialize an NSMutableArray (in case you want to use the same array to replace with different colors later):

Normal Convention:

Objective-C

NSMutableArray *colorArray = [NSMutableArray alloc] initWithArray:[NSArray arrayOfColorsWithColorScheme:(ColorScheme)colorScheme 
                                                                                                    with:(UIColor *)color 
                                                                                             flatScheme:(BOOL)isFlatScheme]];

Swift

var colorArray = NSArray(ofColorsWithColorScheme:ColorScheme, with:UIColor!, flatScheme:Bool)

Chameleon Shorthand:

Objective-C

NSMutableArray *colorArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc] initWithArray:ColorScheme(colorSchemeType, color, isFlatScheme)];

Swift

var colorArray = ColorSchemeOf(colorSchemeType, color, isFlatScheme)

Example:

Assuming you want to generate an analogous color scheme for the light shade of Flat Red, perform the following method call:

Normal Convention:

Objective-C

NSMutableArray *colorArray = [NSMutableArray alloc] initWithArray:[NSArray arrayOfColorsWithColorScheme:ColorSchemeAnalogous
                                                                                                    with:[UIColor flatRedColor] 
                                                                                             flatScheme:YES]];

Swift

var colorArray = NSArray(ofColorsWithColorScheme:ColorScheme.Analogous, with:UIColor.flatRed, flatScheme:true)

Chameleon Shorthand:

Objective-C

NSMutableArray *colorArray = [[NSMutableArray alloc] initWithArray:ColorScheme(ColorSchemeAnalogous, FlatRed, YES)];

Swift

var colorArray = ColorSchemeOf(ColorScheme.Analogous, FlatRed(), true)

You can then retrieve each individual color the same way you would normally retrieve any object from an array:

Objective-C

UIColor *firstColor = colorArray[0];

Swift

var firstColor = colorArray[0] as! UIColor

Theme Methods

With Chameleon, you can now specify a global color theme with simply one line of code (It even takes care of dealing with the status bar style as well)! Here’s one of three methods to get you started. ContentStyle allows you to decide whether text and a few other elements should be white, black, or whichever contrasts more over any UI element’s backgroundColor.

To set a global theme, you can do the following in your app delegate:

Normal Convention:

Objective-C

[Chameleon setGlobalThemeUsingPrimaryColor:(UIColor *)color withContentStyle:(UIContentStyle)contentStyle];

But what if you want a different theme for a specific UIViewController? No problem, Chameleon allows you to override the global theme in any UIViewController and UINavigationController, by simply doing the following:

Normal Convention:

Objective-C

//This would go in the controller you specifically want to theme differently
[self setThemeUsingPrimaryColor:FlatMint withSecondaryColor:FlatBlue andContentStyle:UIContentStyleContrast];

Note: In order for the status bar style to automatically be set using a theme, you need to make sure that the View controller-based status bar appearance key in Info.plist is set to NO.

Navigation Bar Hairline

As of 2.0.3 the navigation bar hairline view is no longer hidden by default. However, if you’re seeking a true flat look (like the image above), you can hide the hairline at the bottom of the navigation bar by doing the following:

Objective-C

[self.navigationController setHidesNavigationBarHairline:YES];

//or

self.navigationController.hidesNavigationBarHairline = YES;

Swift

self.navigationController?.hidesNavigationBarHairline = true

?
Author

Chameleon was developed by Vicc Alexander (@ViccsMind) in 2014 using Objective-C. In 2015, full Swift support was implemented by @Bre7. Currently, it is being maintained by both @ViccAlexander and @Bre7.

?
To Do List

• CocoaPods Support
• Table of Contents
• Storyboard Color Picker Add-On
• Xcode In-App Documentation
• Switch from RGB values over to HSB and LAB
• Gradient Colors
• Update GradientStyle & ShadeStyle Syntax
• Add Radial Gradient Support
• Fix Swift Conflict with initWithArray:for:flatScheme: method
• Swift Support
• Color Scheme From Images
• UIAppearance Convenience Methods
• Add option to hide NavigationBar hairline
• Add support for App Extensions hairline
• Add Swift Support for Random Colors
• Allow Gradient Colors to Adapt To Frame Changes

?
Change Log

See Changelog.md
?

GitHub

https://github.com/vicc/chameleon