Pure design: White on black

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mario garcia

White on black From time to time one sees effective use of white type reversed over a black background. Some purists of design hate the technique; it is even banned in some newsrooms. There is no substitute for the legibility of black type over a white background. That said, it is also true that white type over a black background can look sharp, raise the presence of a quote or highlight on a page, and add a visual to a page where there might be none. Like all other tools available to the designer, reverses work best when used in small sizes. A very large box going from the top to the bottom of the page, all black, with a long article set in white over it, will not be legible. In fact, it will look hard to penetrate, and few will enter it. But used in small versions, and not repeatedly, it can be another efficient way to offer contrast and hierarchy for an item on a page. 

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pure design

Three dimensional motion: This front page from a proposed Spanish daily edition for The Dallas Morning News shows the power of a headline set in white against a black background.

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