Client told me my text was disappearing on dark backgrounds

I had a client in Portland last month who sent me a screenshot with their phone brightness turned way down. I couldn't even read the body copy on my dark theme. That's when I realized I never tested my contrast ratios on lower brightness settings. Now I always check my color pairings at 30% brightness before I call a design done. Anyone else had to adjust their color palette after seeing it on a real device?

2 comments

2 Comments

vera_roberts3mo ago

Have you checked what your design looks like with the "reduce white point" accessibility setting turned on? That really kills contrast way more than just dimming the screen.

angela_wilson783mo ago

Yeah that setting is brutal. Totally agree with you @vera_roberts. It washes out everything, makes colors look muddy. I've had clients complain about text being unreadable on their phones and that was the culprit every time. Such a pain to account for but you have to.