Fix Clashing UI Colors in 3 Simple Ways

Clashing UI colors can disrupt the user experience by making interfaces visually harsh and challenging to navigate. But don’t worry—fixing these issues is simpler than you might think.

In this guide, we’ll explore three effective ways to resolve clashing colors and create harmonious designs.

Clashing colors often occur when their perceived brightness (luminosity) is too similar, causing visual tension. To fix clashing UI colors, try changing the layer blending mode to “Luminosity” to analyze brightness differences.

Highly saturated colors can compete for attention, creating a chaotic visual effect. By reducing the saturation, you can achieve a more balanced look and fix clashing UI colors.

Adjust the brightness levels of warm and cool colors:

Introducing whitespace between clashing elements creates a visual buffer, reducing eye strain and helps fix clashing UI colors. This approach is particularly effective in logo design.

Traditional contrast checkers may sometimes fail in edge cases, such as white text on light blue or orange backgrounds.

For example, WCAG contrast checkers might recommend black text for these colors, even though white text is often more legible. To address this, consider using Accessible Perceptual Contrast (APCA)— a new method for calculating and predicting readability contrast, solving for these edge case color pairings

It doesn’t have to be complicated to try and fix clashing UI colors. By reducing saturation, increasing contrast through brightness adjustments, or adding whitespace, you can create visually appealing and accessible designs. Remember, harmonious color schemes not only improve usability but also elevate the overall user experience.

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Happy designing! 🤗