*** From the Archives ***

This article is from September 23, 2013, and is no longer current.

Capture Any Color You See With the Nix Color Sensor

The world is filled with sources of color inspiration, but how do you capture and use them? A smartphone’s camera offers take-it-anywhere convenience. A calibrated scanner offers you accuracy. Wouldn’t it be cool if you could combine the two? An ideal solution would be a tiny scanner that you could carry around in your pocket, that could block out ambient light, and provide its own neutral lighting. And then such a device would have to easily transmit your scans to your computer or mobile device so you could translate those colors to specific inks, paints, and more. Oh yeah, and it should also tell you where you can go to get those products.

Pipe dream, right? Nothing like that exists…yet.

In fact, the Nix Color Sensor promises to do all that and more. The development of the Nix is being funded on Kickstarter, and has nearly reached its initial goal with three weeks to go. 

Nix Color Sensor

To use the Nix, you simply place it against just about anything and press Scan in the accompanying app on your computer, iOS, or Android device.

 

Once the color is captured, you can save it to a swatch library, add notes, and choose from several kinds of real world uses, including interior wall paints, oil paints, makeup, watercolor, hobby paints, wood stain, and automotive paint. Once you select the product you want, the app allows you to select a specific brand and even gives you directions to the nearest store where you can buy the item.

 

 

 

 

 

The creators of Nix have dreamed up plenty of serious and whimsical uses for the device. My personal favorite is to determine when your bananas have reached the exact moment of desired ripeness.

 

Quick! Eat it!

To learn more, check out the Nix Color Sensor Kickstarter page and the video below.  

Editor in Chief of CreativePro. Instructor at LinkedIn Learning with courses on InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, GIMP, Inkscape, and Affinity Publisher.
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