Contrasting Colors - A Beginner's Guide

Our world is awash with such an abundance of color, we often don't even notice it. However, color has a physiological effect on all of us, which most of the time is entirely subconscious.

This is no more evident than in marketing and branding. All businesses and marketing teams should carefully consider color theory [1] and color contrast when it comes to their branding and marketing campaigns.

Great designs use color theory and contrast to succeed. Let's explore what color contrast is and why color contrast is essential for both aesthetics and user experience.

Color contrast is the difference between color hues, and the difference in brightness and light between background and foreground. If you've ever looked at a design and thought, "Wow, that jumps off of the screen," that's a fantastic example of excellent color contrast [2] in design.

Contrasting colors are always opposite, typically found on opposite sides of a color wheel. These high-contrast colors are what marketers use to create popping-off-the-page type designs.

Great color contrast use is not only crucial for aesthetics but can facilitate a better user experience. Integrating contrasting colors into designs makes icons and elements more visible and can let users know which elements are clickable.

Color contrast is crucial for user experience (UX) and is even more critical for users with visual impairments such as color blindness.

You only need to glance at a standard color wheel to find out which colors contrast with each other. Essentially, colors opposite from each other on the wheel are contrasting colors; for example, red and green, or blue and yellow.

These contrasting colors are more in your face, and can highlight certain parts of a page. On the other hand, colors next to each other on the wheel are more similar.

Similar colors also have a use in design, and can be used to group information. Using the same or similar colors throughout a design and your marketing campaign creates consistency.

In terms of aesthetics, color contrast is used for various purposes. High contrast makes things stand out and can separate elements on a page, while low contrast colors blend in more.

Aesthetically pleasing design incorporates both high-contrast colors and low-contrast ones. You want a mix of in-your-face colors that stand out and subtle ones that blend in and help keep a page consistent. You need both to create the perfect design balance.

High contrast makes things stand out, which can help when selling products or drawing a website user's focus to a particular section of the page, for example. Low contrasting colors are less prominent in marketing and design.

In 2022, color contrast for applications, accessibility, and user experience has never been more important. This is especially true for web users with visual impairments.

Designers and marketers can use guidelines [3] to ensure their designs have sufficiently contrasting foreground and background colors.

This guide will give you specific ratios for foreground and background colors and ensure you create an accessible, easy-to-use website for everyone.

For design to be effective, understanding and using color theory and color contrast is extremely important.

The right tools can help you execute that knowledge. Explore GetApp's web design and graphic design software directories to get started.