Note: This post is over 14 years old. I was 22 when it was originally posted. I stand by my old posts but bear in mind my opinions may well differ now.

Text: dark on light > light on dark

Posted on: 2 February 2010

A somewhat ridiculous statement you might say, given the design and colour scheme of this blog. And I hate to admit it, but there is something much more readable about dark text on a light background, compared to a light text on a dark background. I feel some examples coming on...

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. In fringilla, urna eget elementum aliquet, nisl enim cursus odio, nec interdum neque neque nec nulla. Donec eleifend, massa at interdum viverra, magna mauris hendrerit nunc, eu pulvinar dui neque auctor arcu. Donec nec augue eu mauris iaculis euismod eget vitae risus. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec nec elit laoreet ligula dapibus lacinia. Curabitur vel lobortis felis. Nulla consectetur dictum massa, ac venenatis arcu tristique eget. Vivamus euismod odio nec risus suscipit at sodales felis consectetur. Maecenas tortor lacus, varius et porttitor sed, iaculis ac lacus.
Verdict: Personally, lefty wins.

This becomes more apparant when the amount of text is increased. On a blog, where there may potentially be large paragraphs of text, it may be beneficial for the user to stick with the light on dark tactic. In that vain, I do appear to have made the wrong decision. I'd be interested in other opinions about this. I'm not about to start redesigning the whole blog, but it's something worth considering for the future.

On a completely unrelated topic, it's my Birthday today! Go me.

Tags: design