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The low-contrast trend is really being shown here. I don't get why it's so popular. We've got left navigation with grey text on a grey background, no borders, n

by STRML 13y ago

The low-contrast trend is really being shown here. I don't get why it's so popular. We've got left navigation with grey text on a grey background, no borders, no underlines indicating that they are link. The top bar is purple, with a purple hero board just below it. It's low-contrast city... and I have no idea where my eye should go. Bootstrap 3 looks old and Bootstrap 2 looks new.

marshray 13y ago
I'm no web designer, just a developer with a casual interest. Can you explain what this low-contrast thing is all about? Why would anyone think this was a good idea, except perhaps for UI elements that were explicitly disabled.
- SkyMarshal 13y ago
  An overreach of form over function. Looks Apple-ish, but some just take that to the extreme and sacrifice readability. Concerned web devs are trying to raise awareness about it: http://contrastrebellion.com/ http://contrastrebellion.com/
- willimholte 13y ago
  I can't speak for every designer, and it is possible that the shift is entirely a visual trend based on rebelling from the past trends. My justification for keeping the interface low contrast is to emphasize content. Keep in mind that getbootstrap.com is designed for web designers and developers—most of whom will be familiar with traditional web design. Menus are in obvious places and don't need to be called out. Take the alternative to the extreme: if we need color to show us clickable elements should we have flashing underlines? Gifs that move arrows back and forth?
  - marshray 13y ago
    > interface low contrast to emphasize content I can certainly see that. Do you count "main body text" as 'content' in your designs? I can imagine myself working with a web design until I was sick of seeing lorem ipsum. This might lead me to under-value 'content' from the perspective of the reader. You think such a phenomenon happens with web designers? Or could it be that Apple did some kind of brainwave analysis on rats (or users :-) and determined that low-contrast was better for some purpose, then the design community just cargoculted it?
    - willimholte 13y ago
      > I can certainly see that. Do you count "main body text" as 'content' in your designs? I make an effort to never use placeholder text that doesn't at least closely resemble the real (or intended) content. This might just be me, but I'm pretty sure it's common amongst better designers: building something around fake data is much harder than building something 'real'. > You think such a phenomenon happens with web designers? Absolutely. > brainwave analysis on rats (or users :-) If Art and HCI are on opposing ends of a spectrum of interface design I've always been a bit closer to art—so my experience with testing ends at formal user interviews and guerrilla-coffee-shop tests. It's not a stretch to imagine the big tech companies doing brainwave analysis (and I'd be thrilled to participate at any level, it's seriously cool stuff). > design community just cargoculted it? Like any community, designers react to the trends of their peers, but a competent designer can defend pretty much any decision, which makes it hard to tell the difference between 'doing something familiar but wrong' and 'following trends that are right'.

by STRML 13y ago

marshray 13y ago

I'm no web designer, just a developer with a casual interest. Can you explain what this low-contrast thing is all about? Why would anyone think this was a good idea, except perhaps for UI elements that were explicitly disabled.

SkyMarshal 13y ago
An overreach of form over function. Looks Apple-ish, but some just take that to the extreme and sacrifice readability. Concerned web devs are trying to raise awareness about it: http://contrastrebellion.com/ http://contrastrebellion.com/
willimholte 13y ago
I can't speak for every designer, and it is possible that the shift is entirely a visual trend based on rebelling from the past trends. My justification for keeping the interface low contrast is to emphasize content. Keep in mind that getbootstrap.com is designed for web designers and developers—most of whom will be familiar with traditional web design. Menus are in obvious places and don't need to be called out. Take the alternative to the extreme: if we need color to show us clickable elements should we have flashing underlines? Gifs that move arrows back and forth?
- marshray 13y ago
  > interface low contrast to emphasize content I can certainly see that. Do you count "main body text" as 'content' in your designs? I can imagine myself working with a web design until I was sick of seeing lorem ipsum. This might lead me to under-value 'content' from the perspective of the reader. You think such a phenomenon happens with web designers? Or could it be that Apple did some kind of brainwave analysis on rats (or users :-) and determined that low-contrast was better for some purpose, then the design community just cargoculted it?
  - willimholte 13y ago
    > I can certainly see that. Do you count "main body text" as 'content' in your designs? I make an effort to never use placeholder text that doesn't at least closely resemble the real (or intended) content. This might just be me, but I'm pretty sure it's common amongst better designers: building something around fake data is much harder than building something 'real'. > You think such a phenomenon happens with web designers? Absolutely. > brainwave analysis on rats (or users :-) If Art and HCI are on opposing ends of a spectrum of interface design I've always been a bit closer to art—so my experience with testing ends at formal user interviews and guerrilla-coffee-shop tests. It's not a stretch to imagine the big tech companies doing brainwave analysis (and I'd be thrilled to participate at any level, it's seriously cool stuff). > design community just cargoculted it? Like any community, designers react to the trends of their peers, but a competent designer can defend pretty much any decision, which makes it hard to tell the difference between 'doing something familiar but wrong' and 'following trends that are right'.