Dark mode design isn’t just a trendy option anymore; it’s become a user expectation. With operating systems and modern apps offering built-in support, users now assume your interface will handle light and dark themes seamlessly. I honestly know a few friends of mine who refuse to use a website or application unless a dark mode is available. Light and dark modes aren’t just about looks; they shape readability, visual comfort, accessibility and overall quality.
In the following sections, I’ll discuss how to design dual-theme interfaces that stay clear, consistent and user-friendly, leveraging guidance from platforms like Apple’s and Material Design, as well as accessibility standards and usability research to find ways to improve your user experience (UX).
What Dark Mode Design Means (and Why It Matters)
Dark mode design means applying a mostly dark colour palette for backgrounds and surfaces, with lighter foreground elements like text and controls. It started gaining traction with OLED and other displays where dark pixels save energy while also looking visually pleasing by displaying those pure blacks that we lack in LCD and non-OLED displays.
However, pure black/white shades should be avoided in dark themes, as even the pure black’s contrast can be too jarring. This ended up being a major shift from LCD to OLED as the display was able to display pure black visuals that enhanced visuals, which also gave birth to OLED wallpapers for OLED devices. From there, it evolved to full system support on platforms such as iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows.
Apple describes it as a system-wide appearance optimized for low-light visual comfort, while Material Design provides specific guidance for dark themes that still hit contrast requirements. The main premise of the two is improving visual readability through improved visual aesthetics.
Why the shift?
- Context and comfort: Dark themes reduce glare and brightness in low-light settings. That said, for users with normal vision, light text on dark backgrounds doesn’t always outperform dark text on light backgrounds, so giving users the choice remains key.
For example, some Android Auto/Apple CarPlay systems swap to a “light theme” in the day to improve readability in sunlight.
- Energy savings on certain displays: On OLED screens, dark or near-black pixels consume less power, so dark mode can boost mobile battery life.
- User preferences: More people now think in terms of system-wide themes and expect apps to respect that. When an app ignores its preference, it feels inconsistent or unpolished.
In short, dark mode matters because it ties into preference, context and platform norms. Get it right, and your interface feels refined and user-centric.
How to Design an Effective Dark Mode UX
Dark mode is more than a colour swap. Here are some UI dark mode best practices that help maintain clarity, visual comfort and design consistency.
Colour Contrast & Legibility
Aim for WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) contrast standards: typically 4.5:1 for normal text (AA level), 7:1 for body text if you want to hit AAA. For large text, 3:1 might suffice. Interface elements (icons, borders, etc.) should aim for a 3:1 aspect ratio at a minimum.
You’re probably wondering what this even means, right? This is all about contrast ratios of finding the best balance of text and background and design combinations that are easy to read and stick out, while avoiding our dark mode from being too abrasive to the eyes.
Avoid placing low colour contrast grays on near-black backgrounds. These “washed out” greys often hurt readability. Always test on real devices in the field.
Prefer Deep Grays Over Pure Black
Using pure black (#000) across surfaces often flattens depth and hides shadows or layering cues. Many design systems (including Material) suggest deep grey backgrounds instead of pure black to retain visual depth and subtlety.
Keep Your Brand Identity Intact
Dark mode design shouldn’t mean abandoning your colour identity. Adapt your primary, secondary and accent colours so they remain visible but behave properly in dark contexts. Use design tokens to maintain semantic meaning (such as “primary”, “success”, and “warning”) so your theme remains consistent.
Maintain Visual Hierarchy
In dark mode design, visual hierarchy still matters. Rely on subtle surface tints, elevation effects, and overlays rather than heavy borders. For example, navigation bars, cards and dialogues should still feel distinct without jumping in brightness or breaking theme cohesion.
Consider Emotional Tone and Colour Choice
Highly saturated accents can “vibrate” on dark backgrounds, causing visual fatigue. Opt for more restrained saturation and a cooler overall tone when you’re designing for dark themes. System guidelines often shift their colour hierarchies slightly to meet this need.
Adjust Tap Targets, Icon Clarity and Spacing
Fine lines and light stroke icons can lose clarity on dark backgrounds. Increase stroke weight, consider faint glows or slightly higher contrast fills for active states. Make sure disabled states, focus outlines, and hover states still meet accessibility thresholds.
Dark Mode Design Mistakes to Avoid
Watch out for these pitfalls:
- Using pure black everywhere, which flattens UI cues and depth.
- Low-contrast text or placeholders that disappear in dark mode.
- Over-saturated or neon accents that cause distraction.
- A mismatch between light and dark mode styles that confuses users.
What Is the Right Way to Handle Light and Dark Theme Switching?
Switching between light and dark themes involves user experience (UX) and technical decisions; users expect flexibility, design consistency and control.
Respect System Preferences
Use prefers-color-scheme (CSS) or equivalent API to detect on native platforms to default the interface to the user’s system theme preference. This alignment helps avoid surprise and gives a sense of “works the way I set my device”. This would be important to have to maintain continuity of the user’s experience.
Offer a Manual Toggle
Despite system defaults, users appreciate direct control. Provide a theme toggle in a prominent location (e.g. header, preferences) and allow choices such as “Follow system”, “Light only”, or “Dark only”. For example, apps like Slack handle this by allowing users to set per-device preferences, which avoids confusion when system settings differ between devices.
Smooth Transitions
When the theme changes, apply short transitions to background, surface and text colours; a brief fade can reduce the “flash” effect. Use CSS transitions or system animations accordingly and avoid large motions that may feel jarring.
Persist Theme Selection
Store the user’s theme choice (using localStorage, a cookie, or an equivalent method) so that it persists across sessions. When the system settings change (e.g. at night), your app can still respect the user’s explicit preference if it is set.
Design Both Modes from the Start
Themes should be designed in parallel, not retrofitted. Define tokens, components, and screens with both light and dark in mind from the outset. This avoids last-minute compromises that hurt contrast or design consistency.
Test Both Themes Thoroughly
Validate your layouts, overlays, and edge cases, like empty states, errors or disabled components in both themes. Always check focus outlines, hover states, and keyboard accessibility in both design modes.
The Best-in-Class Examples of Dark Mode UX
Here are some standout products you can reference.
Apple
Apple’s system-level dark mode and developer guidance make theme support predictable and consistent across apps.
Notion
Notion shows a great example of content-heavy dark mode, featuring strong readability through generous line spacing, muted accents, and comfortable colour contrast.
Slack
Slack offers flexible preferences and applies theme settings per device, which helps avoid cross-device confusion.
GitHub
GitHub provides multiple themes (including light, dark, dim, and high contrast) while retaining a consistent component style across all.
YouTube
For video-heavy user interfaces, YouTube’s UI dark mode theme reduces glare and puts the focus on content, featuring subtle accents and minimal distractions.
Source
Figma
Figma enables designers to incorporate both themes, making it smoother to preview and deliver dual-theme designs for developer handoff.
The Role of Accessibility in Dark Mode Design
Meeting accessibility standards in design is non-negotiable; for dark mode, it’s no exception.
Contrast Matters
Make sure you’re hitting:
- Text at 4.5:1 (AA) or better, ideally 7:1 for full readability.
- UI dark mode components (buttons, icons, focus outlines) at 3:1 minimum. Regularly audit your palette and automate checking where possible.
Simulate High-Contrast Mode
Check your UI in OS-level high contrast settings and ensure that focus outlines, outlines and navigation remain clear. Users who depend on assistive tech still need reliable visuals.
Avoid Saturated Hazards
Bright, saturated colours on dark surfaces can create optical “vibration” and fatigue. Tone down saturation and test for readability and visual comfort. Also, ensure line spacing, letter spacing and typographic clarity support readers with dyslexia or low vision.
Maintain Semantics and Focus
Your theme switch shouldn’t impact semantic structure, landmark roles or navigation order. Make sure focus indicators are clear and maintain at least 3:1 contrast against the background.
Visual Comfort for Long Reading Sessions
Extremely high colour contrast (like pure white on black) may become tiring over time. Many users prefer deep grey backgrounds with softened text brightness for extended reading. Consider user-preference settings for reduced motion or reduced transparency alongside theme toggles.
Final Takeaway: Smarter Dark Mode Design for Better User Experience (UX)
Creating a UI that works beautifully in both light and dark modes means balancing design consistency, user preference and accessibility. Start by building your tokens, designing both themes together, and validating across real-world use cases and devices. When you get it right, you’ll elevate your product’s polish, reduce friction and meet modern user expectations.
If you or your team at TechWyse would like a UX audit or guidance on implementing a fully accessible, theme-aware system, I’d be glad to assist. To book an appointment, call 866-208-3095 or contact us here.
