Colors are powerful and they subconsciously effect the choices we make each day. Using color in design not only means knowing what colors to use, but knowing what colors NOT to use. Avoid making these color mistakes in your advertising:

Colors That Are Too Similar

This is most important to remember when layering colors. If colors are layered that are too similar in shade, tint, or tone, whatever information they’re trying to convey will be difficult to see. Stay away from:

• Light on Light – Pale colors layered on top of each other are difficult to see. Avoid putting yellows and other pale colors on white backgrounds, whether designing for print or web.
• Dark on Dark – layering dark text on a black background will also be difficult to see. Though it looks striking, avoid using red, dark blue, or purple text on a black background. In general, avoid black backgrounds entirely because a background that dark has the power to overwhelm any color of text. (Even white).
• Midtone on Midtone – Do you have two colors in your design that are refusing to work well together? Try turning them to grayscale and see if you can still pick out words. It could be the tone of the colors are too similar, making it difficult to real.

In advertising, designs will often be most successful by using dark words on a light background.

Neons and Rainbows

Neon colors can work in the right circumstances, but more often than not, they bring to mind cheap advertisements. Why? Because those cheap advertisements use neon colors as a quick and lazy way to demand a viewer’s attention (especially if more than one neon color is used). Thus, even good designs may seem cheap or lazy simply by power of association.

Also, avoid using too many colors on one design. Try to stick to three, and at the most, four (excluding photographs). The reason? Too many colors will compete for your viewer’s attention. Guide your viewer to where you want them to look by using colors with care.

Cliche Color Combinations

When selecting colors, be sure to consider what those colors represent. Red and green, for example, are a great combination because they are complemenatry colors. However, the wrong shades of red and green will automatically remind viewers of Christmas. If your brand isn’t representing Christmas, you may want to rethink the color selection of your advertisements.