Choosing colors that help improve visibility:

 

two storybook pages one with light color text and the other with darker color text

You will note in the "before" view that the text is too light to be comfortably visible; whereas in the "after" view, the darker text is much easier to read.

When elements on the page are too light or dark, they can hinder the legibility of content. This can become a distraction or a barrier as some students will spend excess energy straining to SEE the text.

Consider the lightness and darkness of the elements on the page through the eyes of a reader and adjust the colors for maximum visibility.

 

Terry's Tips

Before, I based my choice of text colors on colors that matched the images or colors that looked nice to me. Now, I am strategic and base my choice on my goals for students. When I see things through my students eyes,  I realize that the most important thing is for them to SEE the text well.

For more information, see Josef Albers' book Interaction of Color.