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A client told me my color choices were 'making their eyes tired' and it was a wake-up call
I was working on a website for a local dentist's office and thought my palette was clean and modern. I used a bright white background with a light blue and a sharp teal. The client sent back a note saying, 'Honestly, the contrast is too high. It's making my eyes tired to look at for more than a minute.' I'd never considered visual fatigue before, I just aimed for 'pop.' I looked into it and learned about luminance contrast, not just color contrast. Now, for any screen-based design, I run my palettes through a contrast checker and then actually stare at the mockup myself for a solid five minutes. I've started adding more muted, off-white backgrounds and softening my accent colors. It's made a huge difference in how professional the work feels. Has anyone else had a client call out a similar issue with a palette being harsh to look at?
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briannguyen12h ago
My first ever freelance project used this electric lime green on pure black. I thought it looked like a cool hacker terminal. The client asked if it was supposed to give people a headache. I spent the next week learning about color theory the hard way, staring at my own design until my vision went blurry. Now I treat bright colors like hot sauce, a little goes a long way. That dentist client did you a favor, even if it felt rough at the time.
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emma_ramirez14h ago
Oh man, that hits home lol. I had a client say my bright orange call-to-action buttons were "stressful" to look at, which stung at first. I switched to a softer coral and used it more sparingly, and the whole layout just felt calmer. You're totally right about staring at the mockup yourself, it's a game changer.
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