Tina’s brother designed her tanning salon’s website.

Tina’s brother is a genius commercial software engineer.

I don’t think Tina’s brother likes her very much.

I remember asking myself what she could have dome to him that made him design her site with orange text against a brighter yellow screen.

Then she said “Don’t you just LOVE the colors? They remind me of the sun!”

Color-coordination rules still apply on the Internet. If it doesn’t look right off screen, it won’t look right on screen.

I’m not going to go into color theory or the color wheel or anything like that here… But if it hurts someone’s eyes to look at a website, then they’re not going to look at it very long.

Sometimes, one has to wonder that a person is thinking.

An Irish pub decided to use a bright green background with orange text throughout it’s website. Now while that may sound like a logical idea (Irish colors), there are many shades of green to choose from, and neon shades may be in your face, but they are not a great choice if you’re going to put text on top of them… Especially if it’s another neon color.

In graphic design, the most effective and most often used background for text is plain white. Black text is used on this white background to get the most contrast and the easiest visibility, and therefore, the easiest readability.

Contrast is one of the most abused rules in graphic design, both by professionals and amateurs alike. Sometimes it’s on purpose… and sometimes… it’s not.

Contrast is the amount of difference between two objects or ideas. In print (and on the web), this is achieved through color and pattern selections. The further “apart” the colors are from each other, the more contrast. Contrast creates separation, which can be used for organization of ideas and content on a website or printed piece.

Text needs strong contrast to be easily read. Otherwise, it gets lost. Whether it is black text on a white page or white text on a black page, the contrast has to be there. On the Internet, “Content is King,” and being able to read the text is the most important consideration when choosing the background, followed by setting the mood or vibe of the website.

When the text can be easily read, then the site has a good background. If not, then the background needs to be toned down.