The importance of contrast in event design

It’s a great colour. Sometimes.

But like so much in life, it depends on the context – and also in this case, the contrast.

Yellow is a bold highlight colour. It draws attention, especially when used on a darker background.

But if you use yellow on a white background, it can be hard to read.

Simple design choices can have a big impact on your event success.

Venue lighting is another crucial consideration. This can make a huge difference to how your colours display.

Harsh white lights will brighten everything, but softer, warmer lights could make that yellow-on-white even harder to read.

You can’t control everything about the venue, so you (or your designer) need to make sure your signs incorporate good legibility tactics to make them as easy to read as possible.

A vital part of web design is accessibility and using tools such as the Coolors Contrast Checker to ensure there is enough difference between your foreground and background colours.

Even when you’re designing for print or signage, this is still something to consider.

As I wrote about in a previous article, there’s no point creating a design and placing key information where no one can see it.

If you create a design with everything in the right place, but the colours make it hard to read, then it is still a flawed design and not doing its job.

This doesn’t mean everything has to be black and white – literally – but colour is just one thing to bear in mind. Text size, font choice… it all plays a part but if you pay attention to colours then that will be a great start to making your designs stand out.

Colour, contrast and consistency will go a long way in your event designs to make your artwork look more professional and inviting.

More on consistency in this article.

Until then, good luck with any events you’re attending or organising and keep these tips in mind to make your next event a visual success.