The background of a brand is the colour people look at the longest and notice the least. That is exactly why we spend so long on it.

Warm, cool or neutral

A warm off-white feels like paper and makes black type softer. A cool one feels clinical and makes photography look sharper. Neutral sits in between and is the hardest to get right on screen.

Test it in the dark

Every off-white needs a dark-mode partner. We choose both at the same time, then check that the accent colour still passes contrast on each — this site’s vermilion has two values for exactly that reason.

The right off-white never gets a compliment. It just makes everything on top of it look a little more expensive.