Blue and teal are two of the most trusted colors in branding. They're calming, dependable, and used by everyone from Fortune 500 companies to your favorite small business tools. But there's a contrast problem hiding in plain sight and most brands don't catch it until the damage is done.

Purple is one of the most beloved colors in brand design and one of the most misunderstood when it comes to color contrast. In this post, I break down when monochromatic purple palettes actually work, when they fail, and what to do about combinations like purple + orange or dark purple boxes layered on bright purple backgrounds. With real brand examples from Reverie, Maria Violeta, Aussie, NYU, Twitch, and Allison Hardy — plus the actual contrast ratios behind each one.

Butter yellow is showing up on runways, in editorial spreads, and now in a growing number of brand palettes. It's also one of the hardest colors to use accessibly. In this post, I'm breaking down why butter yellow fails color contrast, how mustard yellow tells a completely different story, and what to do when your favorite yellow just won't pass WCAG standards — featuring a gorgeous real-world example from Janna Carlson's Co-Promotion Club.

Orange is energetic, bold, and beloved by brands everywhere. It's also one of the most consistent color contrast failures in digital accessibility. In this post, I'm breaking down why orange fails WCAG standards, sharing real email examples, and confessing the orange-adjacent mistake I made in my own brand — while literally teaching accessibility.

Learn how to use heading levels on websites and Word docs for better accessibility, navigation, and SEO—with real-time help from Successible.

In this blog, we’re going to unpack how color contrast actually works, who it affects, and how you can use a color contrast checker (including tools like Successible) to make sure your brand is both beautiful and readable.