Alright, let's settle this: does the 'three-color rule' actually make a meme funnier or is it just overthinking it?

I've been seeing this debate pop up everywhere in meme explainer threads. Some folks swear by the three-color limit for a meme to be readable and punchy, like you only use a highlight color, a dark text, and a background. Then you got people saying that's nonsense and the more wild colors the better, as long as the joke lands. Last week I tried both on the same joke template, one with three colors and one with five, and posted them in two different groups. The three-color one got 15 more upvotes, but the five-color one got way more comments asking 'what does this mean'. So which actually helps a meme make sense? Anyone else pay attention to color count when you're trying to explain a meme to someone new?

2 comments

2 Comments

gavinlopez1d ago

But did the commenters actually say the five color one was confusing or were they just messing with you?

caleb_ross121d ago

Man I tried the three color rule once and my meme just looked like a washed out corporate PowerPoint slide, so I think my brain just naturally goes for the chaos approach instead. Maybe that's why my friends keep telling me my memes look like they were designed by a blindfolded raccoon.