Visual design rules you can safely follow every time

published on 2023/02/07

You do not have to follow these rules every time. If you have a good reason to break any of them, do. But they are safe to follow every time.

Use near-black and near-white instead of pure black and white

Pure black looks unnatural on a screen, and pure white is too bright. Use close-to-black and close-to-white instead. Any other references to “black” and “white” in these rules assume you’re following this rule.

Anthony Hobday

This article is fantastic and it should be in everyone's design toolbox.