Nordstrom: Following, Bending & Breaking the Rules

Broken Rule #2:

Surprinting and Reverse Type

Seven-point sans serif mousetype surprinted over a busy background is simply lousy design, and this supreme error appears a number of times in the book.

Avoid type text printed over, or reversed out of, a busy or distracting background. —Ed Elliott

Never set your copy in reverse (white type on a black background), and never set it over a gray or colored tint. The old school of art directors believed that these devices forced people to read the copy; we know that they make reading physically challenging. —David Ogilvy