What is Contrast? Definition, Types and Examples

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Contrast is one of the most fundamental yet underrated design principles. It is crucial in visual hierarchy, readability, and user experience.

Whether you’re designing a website, an app, or even a poster, contrast helps direct attention, create emphasis, and improve clarity. 

Adobe’s 2024 State of Creativity Report found that 44% of creatives spend half their working week on repetitive design tasks and 50% report challenges with labor-intensive tasks. 

This highlights the importance of efficient design principles, such as effective contrast, to enhance productivity and usability. 

This article from Design Journal discusses contrast in design and the different types that can take your designs to the next level.

What is contrast?

Jakob Nielsen, a usability expert, states: “Users don’t read, they scan. Strong contrast helps them navigate efficiently and focus on what matters.” This insight highlights the power of contrast in guiding user attention.

Contrast can exist in various forms, such as differences in color, size, shape, texture, and typography. Without comparison, designs may appear dull, confusing, or challenging to navigate.

Contrast definition

“Contrast is the noticeable difference between two or more elements in a composition.” 

According to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), proper contrast is essential for readability, particularly for users with visual impairments. 

The recommended contrast ratio for body text against a background is at least 4.5:1, while for large text, it should be 3:1.

Contrast in design is not just about making things look different—it’s about making things stand out effectively while maintaining balance and harmony in the composition.

Contrast design principle

Contrast is a fundamental design principle that enhances visual interest, improves readability, and guides user attention. 

It is created by juxtaposing distinct elements—such as colors, shapes, sizes, or textures—to emphasize and differentiate. Strong contrast ensures that key information stands out, making it easier for users to process and interact with a design. 

Beyond accessibility, contrast is crucial in establishing a clear visual hierarchy. By making certain elements more prominent, designers can direct a viewer’s focus toward the most critical aspects of a composition. 

For example, a large, bold headline contrasted against lighter body text immediately captures attention. 

Contrast design principle is not limited to color; differences in typography, spacing, and even motion can create a sense of structure and order in a design, making interfaces more intuitive and engaging.

Contrast can significantly enhance user experience and drive desired actions when applied effectively. 

Studies indicate that websites with well-defined contrasts in design improve engagement. A/B tests have shown that high-contrast call-to-action buttons can boost conversions by up to 21%. 

Types of contrast 

Contrast can be achieved in various ways. Here are the most common types of contrast used in design:

Color contrast

Color contrast involves placing colors with differing hues, brightness, or saturation next to each other to create distinction. 

For example, black text on a white background provides high contrast, ensuring readability. It matters how users engage with your design; and to learn more about this, jump to our comprehensive guide on cognitive dissonance.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) recommend a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for standard text to ensure accessibility for users with visual impairments.

Size contrast

Size contrast is achieved by varying the dimensions of elements to denote importance or hierarchy. 

More prominent elements naturally draw more attention, making them ideal for headlines or key visuals. 

For instance, a prominent headline above smaller body text immediately captures the reader’s eye. Research indicates that increasing font size by just 10% can enhance readability by 20%.

Typography contrast

Typography contrast involves using different font styles, weights, or spacing to create a visual hierarchy. 

Pairing a bold sans-serif header with a light-serif body text can effectively guide the reader’s attention. 

Studies have shown that fonts with at least 0.12 em letter-spacing improve readability, enhancing the overall user experience.

Shape contrast

Utilizing different shapes within a design can distinguish elements and create focal points. 

For example, placing circular icons among rectangular buttons can highlight interactive elements. 

According to Google’s Material Design guidelines, shape contrast can improve recognition speed by 18%, aiding in quicker user navigation.

Texture & pattern contrast

Incorporating varying textures or patterns adds depth and richness to a design. For instance, combining a rough background with smooth foreground elements can create a compelling visual distinction. 

This type of contrast enhances aesthetic appeal and helps differentiate between various sections or functionalities within a design.

Whitespace contrast

Also known as negative space, whitespace contrast involves using empty spaces to separate elements, reducing clutter, and enhancing focus. Whitespace and minimalist design are this year’s most significant UI UX design trends.

Apple’s minimalist design approach is a prime example of effective whitespace use, directing attention to key elements. 

The Nielsen Norman Group states that increasing whitespace by 20% can improve content comprehension by 15%, underscoring its importance in design. 

20 ways to implement contrast in designs

By leveraging contrast in design, designers can make their compositions more engaging and accessible. Here are 20 ways to implement contrast in your designs:

Contrast with dark and light colors

Value is just a phrase describing a hue’s lightness or darkness. Pure black and pure white are the most contrasted values. 

However, you do not have to stick to a black-and-white color scheme to produce a high-contrast design. 

Playing brighter and darker colors off of one another is one of the simplest methods for adding contrast and highlighting specific elements of your design.

Contrast with color hue.

Hue is an artist’s name for a particular color, typically one of the 12 on the color wheel. 

However, color theory can also be helpful for graphic and online designers. We can use a variety of classic palettes from the color wheel, which painters have used for ages to create high-contrast compositions. 

Some choices are:

• Complimentary: Opposites on the color wheel, such as red/green or blue/orange; complimentary colors have significant differences and intensity.
• Split-complimentary: Any color on the color wheel plus the two adjacent to its complement; this scheme maintains significant visual difference but is less striking than a complimentary color combination.
• Triadic: Any three equally spaced hues on the color wheel.

Remember that you don’t have to use these hues in their purest, brightest forms. Making your colors lighter, darker, or muted may be more practical for real-life design contexts but can still lend some nice distinction to your design.

Contrast with color temperature

All colors can be classified into three groups based on temperature: warm, cold, and neutral. 

Warm colors include reds, oranges, and yellows, whereas cool colors are blues and greens. Neutrals include black, white, and gray. 

Beiges and browns may also fall into this group depending on their use. Mixing hue temperatures in a design, particularly warm and cool, can produce striking contrast.

Contrast with color intensity

Color intensity is frequently referred to as saturation. A color in its purest, brightest form is 100% saturated; as it approaches gray, it becomes progressively desaturated. 

Using bright or muted colors (alone or in combination) can effectively create a design’s high- or low-contrast areas. 

Bright hues are usually eye-catching, especially when paired with black. A brightly colored button against a neutral background can easily stand out and increase usability.

Contrast with shape: Organic vs. geometric

Mixing organic, free-flowing shapes with rigid geometric forms introduces contrast that enhances visual appeal. 

For example, circular icons in a grid-based layout can add interest and break monotony. 

Organic shapes represent nature and fluidity, while geometric shapes convey structure and stability.

Contrast with Shape: Edges vs. corners

Another subtle method of including form in your design is to apply it to the edges and corners of your design elements, such as fonts, boxes, buttons, or other features. 

More rounded curves offer a softer, informal, or friendlier appearance, whereas sharper shapes appear more organized and precise. You can use typography to contrast these features, as shown in the design below.

Contrast with texture

Textures, like shapes, can create differences by playing off one another’s characteristics: rough vs. smooth, hard vs. soft, elevated vs. flat. 

Unless you are employing a particular printing effect or another physical process, any texture you apply will be solely visual—and with the capabilities provided by various design tools and the free textures and resources available online, the options are endless.

The gritty texture lends an otherwise clean-lined logo an antique feel. Textures and distressing are excellent techniques for making a design appear worn or adding rustic or vintage/retro elements.

Contrast with scale & size

More prominent elements draw more attention than little ones. Headlines are frequently larger than body text to create hierarchy, and enlarged images can serve as focal points to pique user interest. 

This strategy helps prioritize information and effectively guides the user’s eye.

Contrast with visual weight

Visual weight, like scale, is another technique to point to a component of your design and say, “This is essential!” Visual weight refers to how an element stands out compared to the rest of the design. 

The most visually significant aspect of your design (usually the focal point) does not have to be the most crucial element on the page. 

You can also make anything “weighty” or more apparent by using color, texture, shape, or any other distinguishing feature that draws the eye.

Contrast with spacing & white space

While it may be tempting to overload a design with information, white (also known as blank or negative) space is essential for separating and arranging design elements for a balanced layout.

Using white space around elements increases readability and clarity. 

Nielsen Norman Group found that increasing white space by 20% improves content comprehension by 15%. 

Proper spacing prevents overcrowding, ensuring users can quickly process the content without feeling overwhelmed.

Contrast with Compositional Choices

To some extent, every design must address the principles of balance and tension.

How do you keep your design balanced but not dull, dynamic but not chaotic? Making appropriate compositional decisions is one approach to balance the two. 

To better understand how to do this, consider learning about classic composition techniques artists and photographers employ. 

Some of these include:

• The Rule of Thirds: Imagine your arrangement divided into thirds, both vertically and horizontally. Place your focal point at one of the four spots where the imaginary lines join. This is about creating a dynamic layout; there is no faster way to a bland design than putting everything in the middle of the page.
• Diagonals: A diagonal or S-shaped layout can add movement to your design by guiding visitors’ attention across the page. It is frequently more visually appealing than a traditional grid-based design with only horizontal and vertical orientations.

Contrast with something unexpected

The compositional strategies mentioned above work in part because they are surprising. They are neither straight nor centered—not usual. 

This element of surprise can be an excellent approach to introducing contrast into a design. 

Adding an unexpected element, such as a vibrant splash of color in a neutral design, breaks up the monotony and intrigues onlookers.

Contrast with repetition & patterns

Introducing an unexpected element—a pop of color, an unusual shape, or an asymmetrical layout—can create a moment of surprise that enhances user engagement. 

Breaking patterns strategically draws attention and keeps the audience intrigued.

Contrast with position & orientation

Altering the placement or angle of an object creates visual interest. For instance, tilting an image or placing an element slightly off-center can make a design feel more dynamic. Positioning can influence how users scan and navigate content.

Contrast with proximity & separation

Intentionally grouping elements can demonstrate their relationship and help arrange your design so that it is easier to navigate. 

Similarly, separating things can help divide a design into various pieces. It can also be generated through quantity: a single object in a group of several things (or vice versa) will undoubtedly stand out.

Contrast with visual cues

According to studies, people recall 80% of what they see, which is why design can be an effective tool. 

However, attention spans can be brief, and viewers may require a gentle nudge in the proper direction to choose where to focus in your design. 

You may point out a design piece with an arrow or highlight it by encircling it with a circle or another shape. 

Or, in blocks of text, this could take the shape of highlighting, bullet points, or icons that depict the themes being discussed.

Contrast with complex & simple features

Pairing intricate, detailed illustrations with minimalistic typography or layouts creates a striking effect that balances visual complexity with simplicity. 

This technique is often used in editorial designs and websites to maintain engagement without overwhelming the user.

Contrast with font combinations

Using different typefaces in a design can create emphasis and variation. For example, combining a serif font with a sans-serif font helps establish hierarchy and readability. 

Proper font pairing ensures a polished and professional look while guiding the reader’s attention.

For a more in-depth look, check out our comprehensive guide about font psychology.

Be cautious when contrasting with typography

Two fonts that are drastically different from each other may clash—which, unless you are going for an intended style, usually does not look well. 

Whether typefaces work together is typically determined by gut feeling or instinct rather than hard and fast rules; follow your instincts, make mental notes of font combinations that work well, and keep practicing—before you know it, combining fonts will seem like second nature.

Contrasting with typography style & weight

Many typefaces offer a range of variations, including light, bold, italic, condensed, extended, and miniature capital versions. 

This makes your job easier. Even if you use only one font in your design, these choices can help you organize your content and generate contrast between various typographic elements. 

Contrast examples in design: Featuring real brands

Examining contrast examples in design helps us understand its impact on design. Here are some standout brands that master this effectively:

Apple: Mastering minimalism and white space

Apple’s design philosophy emphasizes white space and simplicity. The company uses a high-contrast black-and-white color scheme, ensuring key elements like product images and call-to-action buttons stand out. 

Coca-Cola: High-impact color contrast

Coca-Cola’s iconic red and white branding is a textbook example of color contrast. The bold red backdrop with stark white lettering makes the brand instantly recognizable. 

Research from the Institute for Color Research shows that color increases brand recognition by up to 80%, proving why Coca-Cola’s approach remains successful.

Nike: Typography and bold imagery

Nike’s branding stands out with sharp contrast in typography and imagery.

Combined with bold and capitalized typefaces, it enhances readability and creates a strong brand presence. 

Nike’s “Just Do It” campaigns leverage this to deliver robust, memorable messages.

Spotify: Vibrant color palettes

Spotify’s interface is visually striking, using neon green against dark backgrounds. The color contrast enhances visibility, especially in dark mode, improving user experience. 

A 2022 UX study found that vibrant colors against dark UIs increase engagement by 30%.

Conclusion

Contrast is one of the most powerful yet often overlooked design principles. 

By strategically using it in color, size, typography, shape, texture, and spacing, designers can enhance visual hierarchy, improve readability, and create more engaging user experiences. 

Whether you’re working on a website, an app, or a branding project, thoughtfully leveraging contrast in design can significantly affect how your design is perceived and interacted with. 

By applying the techniques discussed in the contrast examples, you can create visually striking, highly functional, and user-friendly designs.

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Frequently asked questions

What do you mean by contrast?

It refers to the difference between two or more elements in a design. It helps create visual distinction, making certain elements stand out while improving readability and usability. It can be achieved through color, size, shape, typography, texture, and spacing differences.

What is the synonym of contrast?

Some synonyms include difference, distinction, variation, divergence, and opposition. In design, it is often associated with terms like emphasis, juxtaposition, and differentiation.

What is a contrast in the design example?

A typical example in design is using dark text on a light background (or vice versa) to improve readability. Another example is pairing a bold, large heading with smaller, lighter body text to create a clear visual hierarchy.

What is an example of contrast?

An example of outside design is black-and-white photography, where the stark difference between light and dark areas creates depth and focus. In branding, a luxury brand might use a minimalist black-and-gold color scheme to stand out and evoke elegance.