A dark background theme is the cool, new thing. Your smartphone, web browser, and even Facebook now have a dark mode setting. Should you implement it in your design? It depends. 

A dark background for text-light content

You might have been told to reduce staring at a screen for long periods. Blue light emitting from your screen puts a strain on your eyes. It’s why many smartphones have a blue screen filter and a dark screen mode. A dark background means less strain on your eyes.

Many social media platforms and websites offer a dark mode. Interactions on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are all designed to be interacted with for five seconds or less. Dark mode is a great way for users to keep on scrolling, but with less eye strain. 

Other than websites, a dark background can be very effective on any text-light graphic, such as a title page. When you’re designing a presentation slide, you want to highlight the speaker as the star of the show. Presentations usually take place in a dark room. Dark backgrounds will not only make your slideshow appear sophisticated but will also make the speaker “shine” when presenting. 

“Night is dark. Screen is bright. Eyes hurt. 
Night is dark. Screen is dark. Eyes not hurt.” 

– illusionmist

A bright background for text-heavy content

It doesn’t mean that a dark background is better than a bright background. One of my first design projects in my first year of university, was a classic PowerPoint presentation. I thought of a dark background theme. I was so proud of how cool my work was, but my manager told me that she hated it. She said she couldn’t read it.

Even though I was just talking about how having a title page with a dark background is good, there I was, in trouble for using one on my first design project. Every single slide had a dark background, even the ones full of text. 

A bright background is more effective for text-heavy content like reports and essays. Reading text-heavy content on a dark background would be tricky for our brains. A dark background produces less blue light that relaxes our eyes. Even though our eyes are more relaxed with a dark background, you want to use a bright background for text-heavy content because you want your audience to be awake to be able to read and fully understand your content.

Both dark and bright modes have their own advantages. I use both in my design. It’s up to you to decide which background you’ll choose for your project. It’s about getting to know your project, creating meaningful goals, and making your audiences’ lives easier.