May 17, 2013

UI's becoming darker

After years of being bombarded by particles emitted by bulky CRT's and LCD 'dirty waves', the industry has finally started to make applications' User Interfaces darker. Adobe as one of the leading software developing companies has given some of its products (strangely enough not all of them) a dark interface.

Adobe Illustrator CS6 dark UI


Are there any arguments that would support such a choice? Yes, there are. Company web-sites mainly have a white or light shaded background. Apart from hanging on to the traditional white paper analog hard-copy documents, this was done to avoid being associated with shady xxx-sites and hackers' dens that preferred dark interfaces. So, Adobe's choice was rather remarkable. It started with the Elements program and was later followed by Illustrator and Photoshop. Audi, maker of top quality cars, also created a beautiful, somewhat darker site that has stylish written all over it.


Audi Corporate web-site

Cinema 4D offers its users an elegant option that allows them to choose the colors of the UI themselves. Quite similar to what open source Blender 3D application offers. Such solutions make it possible for the conditioned and aware to create their own preference. It is even possible to go wild with their selection option (though not advised...).


Cinema 4D configurable colors UI


When heavy and large CRT's still cluttered up desks in the office and at home, users were literally pelted with particles by a particle gatling gun aimed straight at them. Especially when those monitors were displaying light UI's users took a full pounding. LCD's emit dirty waves; these are not nice and smooth sinus shaped waves, but jagged scrabbles, representing frequencies that cause headaches, skin disorders and other unpleasant ailments (or worse). Dark or black screens by default emit less of whatever may be hazardous to human health - people became victims less quick.

So, EFC's web-site is for these reasons also darker than average. It is less unhealthy than the screaming light particle beamers and while companies are still considering what to do with their corporate web presence, darker hued sites stand out from the common light coloured web-sites that still cling to old misconceptions. 

EFC's dark site

There's also an other advantage to darker sites that I assume many prefer to ignore and deny. Since a certain category of shady, dark tinted sites on the web are statistically among the most visited, it is quite safe to assume (especially) men go there when their wives or girlfriends are not looking... And, as women gradually get familiar with seeing darker UI's filling his screen when their loved ones supposedly are working, staring at darker screens will cause less suspicion. At least it will take her more time to figure out what those dirty minded male surfers are secretly watching. So, there appears to be a lighter side to the dark after as well....

Have a nice day!