Even professional designers make these three color palette mistakes. So give yourself grace if you’ve made them too. 

Mistake #1: Not Enough Neutrals

Neutral colors are the supporting cast in your movie. They complement and elevate your main brand colors. They give your audience visual relief from your main brand colors and, by contrast, allow your primary colors to stand out that much more.

What do I mean by “neutrals”? I’m talking about shades of brown, shades of gray, or lighter shades of your primary colors. Don’t ignore them. 

(Recommended Reading: The Anatomy of the Perfect Color Palette)

Mistake #2: Too Many Colors

The more colors you include in your color palette, the harder it becomes to have them all work in perfect harmony. It’s even harder if you have highly saturated colors in your palette. 

Think of it like cooking: your colors are the spices. If you throw a heap of strong spices in the pot all at once, you’re gonna end up with a hot mess. 🥵 You want to sprinkle in a dash of spice here and a dash of spice there to create a balanced dish.

(If you’re nervous about showing up as a rainbow, download the Color Meaning Cheat Sheet to build the perfect, professional designer-approved color palette for your brand.)

Mistake #3: Not Enough Contrast

If you value accessibility and want to give your audience a pleasant visual experience, choose colors that contrast well with each other. You’ll instantly improve your readability and enhance the visual appeal of your designs by dialing up the contrast, too. A win-win-win.