Had a talk with my brother that changed how I pick dark mode colors

My little brother, who is a gamer not a designer, asked me why all my dark mode designs look the same. He said they all use that standard dark gray background and white text. I told him it's the safe way to do it. But he showed me a game he plays called Hades, where the dark backgrounds have subtle blue and purple tones. I tried something similar on a dashboard project last week. I used a very dark navy instead of straight black for the background and soft amber accents in the UI. The client actually commented that it felt more alive and easier to read at night. Have you ever pulled color inspiration from video games or movies for your dark themes?

2 comments

2 Comments

webb.stella5d ago

Oh man, the part about Hades using subtle blue and purple really hit home for me. I played that game for months and never even thought about why the dark scenes felt so good until now. I tried a similar thing on a personal project last month, swapped out plain #000 for a deep charcoal with a hint of teal, and it totally changed the vibe. My friends who tested it said the dark mode felt less harsh on their eyes at 2am. It's wild how a tiny color shift can make such a big difference.

miles_roberts225d ago

Alright, 64 bucks says your client just liked that it was different from the usual boring dark mode they see everywhere, not that it was actually better. I mean, you swap out plain black for some fancy navy and add amber accents, of course they're gonna say it feels more alive - it's a change of pace. People always say a UI feels "easier to read" when it's just new to them. Give it two months and that same navy background is gonna feel just as tired as the gray one did.