Neon Palettes That Actually Pass Contrast Checks

Loud design gets a bad reputation because it is easy to do badly. Done well, it is the fastest way to tell someone what is happening, where and when, from the other side of a busy street.

The trick is hierarchy. A brutalist poster can use six colours and three typefaces as long as one thing is clearly more important than everything else. Everything else is decoration, and decoration is allowed.

Hierarchy Beats Taste

Risograph printing has become the default for this kind of work because it rewards bold choices. Flat colours, slight misregistration and visible texture make even a simple layout feel alive.

• Pick one thing to shout about
• Use fewer typefaces, bigger
• Check contrast before printing
• Let the colours overlap

If you can read it from across the car park, it is finished.

Accessibility is part of the job, not an afterthought. Neon on black can pass contrast checks; neon on white usually cannot. Test it before you print five hundred copies.