Neon sign colors: how they look on and off

Color is the second thing people notice about a neon sign, right after the words. It sets the mood of a room, changes how the sign looks in photos, and even decides what the sign looks like in daylight when it is switched off. This guide walks through our 18 colors and how to choose.

The 18 colors

Every LED neon sign can be made in any of these tube colors. You can try them on your own words in our neon designer.

Family	Colors	Often used for
Whites	White, warm white	Weddings, restaurants, cafes, offices, modern homes
Blues	Turquoise, ice blue, blue, deep blue	Home bars, kids’ rooms, gaming setups, beach and pool themes
Yellows and orange	Lemon yellow, yellow, golden yellow, orange	Bars, patios, cafes, retro looks
Reds and pinks	Tomato red, red, light pink, hot pink	Salons, bedrooms, OPEN signs, parties
Purples	Purple, light purple	Bedrooms, studios, lounges
Greens	Green, deep green	Gaming rooms, gyms, plant shops, holiday signs

Our ready-made designs show how these colors work in real settings: warm white on wedding pieces like Better Together, purple on Good Vibes, ice blue on Home Bar, and several colors at once on the Rainbow sign.

Warm white or white

These two look close on a screen but very different on a wall.

• Warm white has a soft, creamy glow, much like a classic incandescent bulb. It feels cozy and flatters wood, brick and candlelight. It is the usual choice for weddings, restaurants and living rooms.
• White is crisp and cool. It looks clean against gray, black or concrete and suits offices, shops and modern rooms.

Both read well in wedding photos. If your room already has warm lamps, warm white blends in; if it has bright daylight bulbs, white may look more natural.

How colors read in a room

The same tube can look quite different from one room to the next.

• Darker rooms make colors look stronger. In a dim bar or bedroom at night, colors look deep and bright. In a sunny shop window, the same sign looks softer.
• Some colors look brighter to the eye. Human eyes are most sensitive to green and yellow light, so white, yellows and greens look bright, while deep blue and purple look darker at the same power. If a deep blue sign must stand out in daylight, consider a lighter blue such as ice blue or turquoise.
• The wall shows through clear acrylic. On our standard clear backboard you see the wall around the tube. A dark wall makes colors pop. A light wall picks up a glow of the tube color. A strongly colored wall can tint the glow.
• Screens are only a guide. Phone and computer screens show colors differently, so the swatches in the designer are close but not exact.

Colors in photos and video

Cameras see neon differently from eyes. A very bright tube can look washed out or almost white in the middle on a phone camera. Turning the dimmer down a little brings the color back. Warm white and white read best in wedding photos, and strongly colored light that falls on faces can tint skin. Our guide to neon signs in photos and video covers this in detail.

Several colors in one sign

You do not have to pick only one color. Several colors in one sign cost nothing extra.

• In the designer, each line of text can have its own color, for example names in warm white and a date in pink.
• In a logo, each part can be its own color.
• On our ready-made designs, colors other than the ones pictured can be requested on the proof at no charge.

Two or three colors usually look best. Pick one main color for the words people must read and use the others as accents.

Color changing (RGB)

A color-changing sign uses an RGB tube that can show many colors. It costs extra, and it comes with a controller and a wireless touch remote with a color wheel. You can pick one fixed color or let the sign cycle through colors, and adjust the brightness, from up to about 100 ft (30 m) away. If you lose the remote, a replacement RGB controller with remote is available.

Two things to know before you choose RGB:

1. RGB whites are mixed. An RGB tube makes white by blending red, green and blue light, which can carry a slight tint. If you want a clean white or warm white, a single-color tube is the better choice.
2. The dimmer is different. RGB signs use their own controller. The single-color dimmers do not work on RGB signs. Our guide to dimmers and RGB remotes explains the difference.

What the sign looks like switched off

A sign spends many hours switched off, often in daylight, so this matters more than people expect. The look depends on the tube jacket, the silicone layer you see on top.

• Milky white jacket. The tube looks milky white when off, and the color only appears when it is lit. Our sample sign switched off shows milky white lines on clear acrylic. This looks clean and neutral in any room. The lit color is a little softer.
• Colored jacket. The silicone itself is tinted, so the tube shows its color by day, for example a pink heart that still looks pink when off. When lit, the color looks deeper and richer.
• Color-changing tubes have to let every color through, so they look white when switched off.

Our tube colors come with one jacket or the other. If the daytime look is important, for example a shop window or a wedding venue in daylight, tell us when you order and we will confirm how your color looks off on the proof.

The backboard also changes the switched-off look:

• Clear acrylic shows the wall, so the tube lines are what you see.
• Black acrylic frames the tube in a dark panel.
• A printed backboard shows your full-color artwork even when the light is off. See printed backboard neon signs and our guide to backboard options.

How to choose, step by step

1. Start with the room. Note the wall color, the other lights and whether the sign will be seen by day.
2. Pick the main color for the words. Warm white or white for a calm, classic look; a strong color for energy.
3. Add up to two accent colors if the design has several parts.
4. Decide on RGB only if you want to change colors often.
5. Check the switched-off look if the sign will hang in daylight.
6. Review it on your free proof. Nothing is made until you approve it, and color changes on the proof are free.

Looking for ideas by room? Browse neon signs for rooms, or start your own custom neon sign.