On 13-11-09 03:08 PM, Steven Walling wrote:
On Sat, Nov 9, 2013 at 12:57 AM, Pau Giner <pginer@wikimedia.org mailto:pginer@wikimedia.org> wrote:
An interesting link defending those ideas with some examples: http://contrastrebellion.com/I agree we should be very careful to preserve readability, but I find that site a little ridiculous. It's arguing that we don't have to sacrifice aesthetics for readability... and it's ugly as sin. "High contrast" pairings like #cfba58 on black don't help their case.
Aesthetic choices are subjective. I like their palette, but can see how it wouldn't be universally appealing. (which is one of the reasons why we've historically gone with a grey or muted palette in Wikipedia. It turns-off the least number of people.)
Contrast (in contrast!) is objectively measurable, and #cfba58 on black is high-contrast, as checked at http://www.snook.ca/technical/colour_contrast/colour.html
Readability is not just about contrast. In that very site, they also make controversial choices like pure white text on a pure black background, which is not universally agreed to be easy on the eyes.[1][2] Part of the reason I understand that there's been a movement away from 'pure white on black' as a standard for text is that high levels of contrast can be hard on your eyes with extended reading... such as reading long Wikipedia articles.
"extended reading" is not a factor in that site, though... ;P
However, I agree with the general point, and i think the creators of contrastrebellion would too, but they concentrated on knocking down the target (http://contrastrebellion.com/public/images/page2-img1.jpg), and didn't go into the tangential topics of very-high-contrast-in-large-quantities, or color blindness.
Personally, I've occasionally used the "zap white backgrounds" bookmarklet (adapted to use a light grey) found here https://www.squarefree.com/bookmarklets/zap.html for many years. Though usually if I start to get eyestrain from reading too much Wikipedia, that's a sign that I'm overdue for a stand&stretch, or I need to adjust my room's lighting. :)
http://uxmovement.com/content/when-to-use-white-text-on-a-dark-background/ 2. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-on-dark_color_scheme http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light-on-dark_color_scheme
-- Steven Walling, Product Manager https://wikimediafoundation.org/
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