Graphic Design 101: Life Isn't Black & White - Here's Why Your Design Shouldn't Be Either

 

When working on any kind of graphic design project, it is often considered bad practice to use pure black or pure white in your pieces. While there are certainly some exceptions, it is much better to use near-blacks that are actually dark greys, blues, purples, browns, etc. and off-whites that are actually pale greys, peaches, yellows, blues, mints, greens, lilacs, pinks, and more. This is because pure black and white can appear extremely harsh in many contexts, especially when a piece is being viewed digitally. Additionally, using extremely dark shades that still coordinate with the rest of your color scheme can feel less bold and contrast less with the rest of the colors. This also applies to using off-white shades.

Here are some examples of these kinds of shades:

As you can see on the left in this example, there is a wide variety of extremely dark blues, purples, olives, and grays that can give nearly the same depth and contrast as pure black without being as stark, drastic, or even overwhelming.

Looking at the right side of this example, there is a variety of off whites, pale beiges, yellows, purples and lilacs, pinks, peaches, greys, and greens. Much like the near-blacks on the right, these can appear softer and less stark as well as being complementary to other colors that you are using in your piece.

In order to get a color like these that suits your piece and it's color scheme if you don't already have colors like these selected, I would suggest choosing a mid-toned color from what you have selected and play around with it by making it significantly darker and/or lighter until you get a shade that feels appropriate for what you need.