color - Never use white?

There was a famous blog post by Ian Taylor called "Never use black", in which he explained that one should never use pure, complete, 0-0-0 black, and should instead put a little bit of color or light into it.

My question is: does the same principle apply for white? Is is possible to use pure 255-255-255 white in, say, a poster with dark background? Or should the white be similarly muted?

Answer

I don't know how "famous" the blog post is. The theory that black is unnatural is a standard which has existed well before August 2012 and dates back to the masters who rarely used black when painting.

To answer your question, I'd say no.

While it's true that in nature you never find pure back, the same is not true for white. Using a color other than true white can be exceptionally useful if you wish to create a mood to a piece, but pure white is a natural part of the spectrum unlike true black.