abbyc33•26d agoMost Upvoted

Pro tip: That Neon Lights showcase in Chicago changed how I color pick

I went to the Neon Lights digital art event in Chicago last month and everyone was raving about using neon greens and pinks for impact. But honestly, the booth that blew my mind was this one guy using muted dusty blues and warm grays in his piece. It stood out way more against the dark walls than any bright color did. Has anyone else noticed that going against the popular palette choice actually makes your work pop harder at these shows?

2 comments

2 Comments

gavin_kim326d ago

The muted dusty blues thing is actually backed by color theory a bit - low saturation colors can create more contrast against dark backgrounds than high saturation ones, since your eyes have to work harder to focus on them. I remember a study from some university that showed muted tones often look brighter in low light because of how our retinas handle desaturated wavelengths. Maybe it's just me overthinking it, but that booth guy probably knew exactly what he was doing breaking the neon trend.

abby_henderson26d ago

That part about muted tones looking brighter in low light is really interesting because I've noticed the opposite effect in my own house actually. I painted my living room a dusty blue last year and a friend said it felt almost glowing at dusk, but then I swapped a lamp from a warm bulb to a daylight LED and suddenly the walls looked totally flat and gray. It makes me wonder if the booth guy was counting on the specific lighting setup at that convention to make his colors pop in a way that wouldn't work in a regular store. So @gavin_kim3, your color theory thing might only work under very controlled conditions, and that's probably why most booths just blast neon everywhere instead.