The use of contrast colours in signage is an important aspect to consider when designing your sign as it will aid greatly in the ease of readability. Simply put, if coloured text is used on a bright background the contrast will be weak and your message will be lost whereas white text against a dark coloured background, for example, will provide optimal contrast results. Thoughtful use of colour also creates harmony with the environment and helps onlookers to distinguish your sign from the one next to it.
Make Use of The Colour Wheel
The colour wheel was created by Swiss painter and designer, Johannes Itten. The 12 colour hues, presented in a circular format, are organised in such a way as to highlight the relationship between the colours. Taking heed of these relationships is very helpful when making informed selection options for contrast colours in signage.
Primary Colours – Red, yellow and blue
Secondary Colours – Green, orange and violet
Complementary Colours – Red with orange, red with violet, yellow with orange, yellow with green, blue with violet and blue with green.
Get Scientific with Colour Contrasting
In their book ‘Wayfinding’ published in 1992, Arthur & Passini use a reliable scientific formula method to calculate the contrast between two colours. The formula is based on light reflectancy readings, measured in percentages for the two colours involved. The results of the applied formula is known as the brightness differential. When the brightness differential works out to 70% or higher for the lighter colour, one can be assured of good legibility using those contrast colours in signage. Anything less would indicate that the chosen contrast colours are not a good match.
Applying Contrast Colours in Signage
These are a few examples of contrast colours to get the wheels turning when it comes to planning your signage.
Black: Associated with power, formality, elegance, death, evil and mystery.
A black background generally provides higher contrast than other coloured backgrounds. It is, however, important to note that smaller lettering with too much contrast such as the use of white text, will actually be harder to read. It is thus best to use larger lettering on a black background. Black backgrounds are good for airport signage, office building signage, hotel signage, indoor signage and visually overwhelming environments.
The best contrast colours for a black background are white and yellow
White: Associated with light, purity, innocence, virginity and goodness. White is considered to be the colour of perfection.
While a white background allows for the most workable colour combinations beware that it can also absorb the surrounding environment. A white background is perfect for signage where the design plays a bigger part than the colour contrast. For example, using silver lettering can create a shadow effect. White backgrounds for signage are best for museums, office buildings, pylons, the retail industry, hospitals as well as indoor and outdoor signage.
The best contrast colours for a white background are those that have a lower contrast such as blue, orange and red.
Metal / Silver: Metal allows you to create a robust look and feel to your signage. Because metal has a different surface when looking at it from different angles, it can be more challenging when it comes to perfectly contrasting it with lettering. That said, almost all colours tend to look good on metal or silver backgrounds with black being the most popular as it adds a very stylish look and feel to the signage. Metal or silver backgrounds are great for office signage, nameplate designs, public spaces and indoor and outdoor signage.
While contrast colours in signage are important, take note too that your chosen typeface is also paramount when it comes to making sure that your business signage stands out from the competition.
Call on Signkor to help guide and assist you in using the most efficient contrast colours in signage that will work best to showcase your business. Visit their website www.signkor.co.za to find out more.
