Color changing systems include a color changing article or device that includes a color, text, and pattern changing hardware. Smart devices or other standalone controllers provide software instructions to the color changing hardware to produce colors, patterns, and text which appear on the articles or devices. A software app running on the smart device or standalone controller initiates a method of changing colors, text, and patterns of apparel, devices, hard goods, and accessories. The color changing systems include fabrics and other materials including LEDs, LED fiber optic fabrics, electroluminescence (EL), bioluminescence, electrochromatics, E-ink, OLED, light guides, printed nano LEDs, photonic ink, and other materials. The systems selectively apply an analog voltage or data stream to the output material to produce an article with a selected color, text, or pattern. A camera or color detector can be used to select colors for display.