Nothing says high energy like neon, a color that can draw the eye and grab attention with its bold, bright glow. But adding neon to your designs is a tricky proposition because the colors can easily become overwhelming if not carefully balanced.
In the right hands, neon can be used to add an exciting pop of color and energy to your work. It can be combined with neutral shades to create a more balanced and sophisticated look, or it can be used with other neon colors to highlight certain aspects of your design that need to stand out. With a little practice, you can make your neon-colored designs look polished and professional without the color being too overpowering or garish.
The chemical element neon is a noble gas, an inert gas that doesn’t react with anything other than itself and emits light when ionized (passing electricity through it). It was discovered in 1898 by British chemists William Ramsay and Morris Travers at University College London, who were trying to isolate argon from liquid air. They were aware that an element must exist between argon and helium on the periodic table, and after freezing and evaporating several samples of liquid argon, they finally isolated krypton and later neon from their experiment.
Besides being used in a variety of lighting devices, neon is known for the iconic “neon signs” found in streetlights and other buildings. These signs contain a tube of neon gas in which a vacuum exists, and when electric current is passed through the glass, it illuminates with a red-orange glow. Neon is also unique in that it can penetrate fog, making it useful for illuminating roads and other areas where visibility is poor.