The concept of dark mode design has seen significantly rapid growth in the last few years. Whether it is about the use of dark mode in website design or mobile design, brands have been seen getting inclined towards its use substantially. 

But, despite being one of the growing trends in graphic design, several businesses have their reservations regarding the use of dark mode in website design. 

And, while there’s no one particular reason that could cement the fact that the dark mode can be harmful to a brand, there are many that have proved to be beneficial. 

So, we decided to decode this not-so-new concept of dark mode in website design and see whether it is good or bad for your business. 

In this article, today, we’ll discuss some of the pros and cons of using dark mode in website design (as well as mobile design). 

Pros of using Dark Mode in website design

Reduces strain on eyes – One of the very first and most popular advantages attached with dark mode theme designs is that of reduction of strain on the eyes. Using dark mode in UI design is said to help improve the overall readability of the content available through the design.

Increase visibility in low light setup – Another benefit of dark mode design is that of increased visibility, especially, in a low light setup. In the dark mode, we can see the text and other items displayed on the screen more clearly.

Saves the battery significantly – One of the major pet peeves for several consumers is that of low battery life, or battery getting drained out sooner than expected. With an option of using the dark theme on the devices (whether laptop or mobile) it helps improve the battery life significantly. This is particularly applicable to OLED screens as they can switch off black pixels when they are not in use.

Provides a sense of doing something good – It certainly cannot be denied that the dark mode theme posses a certain charisma that could be associated with boldness, formality, sophistication, mystery, strength, luxuriousness, etc. Simply put, all of these traits are quite appealing and desirable, especially when it comes to marketing.

Helps improve focus – Another useful effect of dark mode in website design is when you want to highlight a specific type of content. Take brands such as Spotify and Netflix, for example. They want you to draw your eyes towards the colorful and vibrant album art and video thumbnails. Dark mode makes these thumbnails pop out in a specific way that light mode can't.

Cons of using Dark Mode in website design

Create a visual sense of less space – One of the several graphic design best practices is that of having significant whitespace in the design. This is for a simple reason that having enough whitespace makes the design look spacious and, its content, clear. With dark mode design, that visual sense of space is depleted substantially. 

Diminished emotional connect – Professional graphic designers understand the fact that all colors carry individual emotional essence. So, when bright colors can carry bright emotions, the opposite can also be true.

Dark mode looks unnatural – If we look at the concept of reading and writing, the human brain has been in a habit of observing dark text over a light background. So, when something like a dark mode theme comes into the picture the first natural response is that it is unnatural; or not usual.

To conclude…

Knowing these pros and cons of using dark mode in website design gives one clear inference, which is that dark mode theme must be a choice of your users. Whether they want it or not should be on their discretion. 

For more information on how you can implicate dark mode for your website design get in touch with us at support@graphicszoo.com