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I know people say dark mode is an accessibility feature. Is the same true of light mode? Or should we just always use dark mode?

by wilg 4y ago

Tagbert 4y ago
People with astigmatism often find that light text against a dark background end up looking blurry. I don’t think that dark mode is any more beneficial than light mode. I don’t like living in a dim dark room just so that dark mode looks reasonable.
chrismorgan 4y ago
https://www.nngroup.com/articles/dark-mode/ https://www.nngroup.com/articles/dark-mode/ is a literature review: > Summary: In people with normal vision (or corrected-to-normal vision), visual performance tends to be better with light mode, whereas some people with cataract and related disorders may perform better with dark mode. On the flip side, long-term reading in light mode may be associated with myopia. What is seldom discussed is the different types of dark modes, which are quite radically different in their appearance, purposes, pros and cons (unlike light mode, which is much less variable, and where there is marked variation it’s seldom for any particularly good reason). I wrote a bit about the three or four categories I’ve settled on a couple of years ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28516862 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28516862. It depends heavily on what you’re trying to achieve (æsthetics/low-contrast or accessibility), and the ambient lighting conditions and specific screen technology (both statically unknowable). All up, dark mode is actually pretty risky, surprisingly so, because it can actually be at least three radically different and incompatible things. If you implement only one, go light.
- bremensaki 4y ago
  100% this. I have severe issues personally reading dark-themed sites to the point where I just have to give up on many sites that are locked as dark only, or require a login or clicking an obscure button to change a theme preference which I can't locate.
extra88 4y ago
Yes, the same is true for light mode, some people find dark mode sites harder to read. Even for users who need light-on-dark, they may want individual sites light-on-dark if they have other sites or apps they have to use that don't have a dark mode so the user inverts the colors on the whole display.

I know people say dark mode is an accessibility feature. Is the same true of light mode? Or should we just always use dark mode?

by wilg 4y ago

I know people say dark mode is an accessibility feature. Is the same true of light mode? Or should we just always use dark mode?

Tagbert 4y ago

People with astigmatism often find that light text against a dark background end up looking blurry. I don’t think that dark mode is any more beneficial than light mode. I don’t like living in a dim dark room just so that dark mode looks reasonable.

chrismorgan 4y ago

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/dark-mode/ https://www.nngroup.com/articles/dark-mode/ is a literature review: > Summary: In people with normal vision (or corrected-to-normal vision), visual performance tends to be better with light mode, whereas some people with cataract and related disorders may perform better with dark mode. On the flip side, long-term reading in light mode may be associated with myopia. What is seldom discussed is the different types of dark modes, which are quite radically different in their appearance, purposes, pros and cons (unlike light mode, which is much less variable, and where there is marked variation it’s seldom for any particularly good reason). I wrote a bit about the three or four categories I’ve settled on a couple of years ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28516862 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28516862. It depends heavily on what you’re trying to achieve (æsthetics/low-contrast or accessibility), and the ambient lighting conditions and specific screen technology (both statically unknowable). All up, dark mode is actually pretty risky, surprisingly so, because it can actually be at least three radically different and incompatible things. If you implement only one, go light.

bremensaki 4y ago
100% this. I have severe issues personally reading dark-themed sites to the point where I just have to give up on many sites that are locked as dark only, or require a login or clicking an obscure button to change a theme preference which I can't locate.

extra88 4y ago

Yes, the same is true for light mode, some people find dark mode sites harder to read. Even for users who need light-on-dark, they may want individual sites light-on-dark if they have other sites or apps they have to use that don't have a dark mode so the user inverts the colors on the whole display.