- Isn't most of the text on the page grey? It's not white, it's rgb(215,215,216). And the background is not black. Some worse examples are shown, but then the message comes across as "don't use grey unless you know what you're doing, like I do, because I'm using grey while I tell you not to use grey, but mine is okay."
Maybe aside from the unset option, something more specific about a minimum contrast threshold would be useful. Ideally the author wouldn't be breaking below that threshold themselves while explaining it.
by sherry-sherry
2 subcomments
- No.
There's pretty much nothing in the natural world that has the contrast ratio a modern screen can produce. It is easier on the eyes to not have blindingly high contrast.
No printed page in any book or magazine you've seen has ever had contrast ratio a screen can show. It's just not possible to do.
Legibility can be an issue, and is good to discuss. I agree that when something like "@media (prefers-contrast: more)" is set, text should be at a higher contrast level for those with lower vision. But don't blind everyone else in the process.
>... the amount of times per day I ask myself if I’m literally going blind, only to find out the “designer” decided for me how I should best read their website.
Yes? That's what the designers of literally everything do, decide how it will be presented to you. The magic part of HTML/CSS is you can change that to suit your needs.
- The article could have been more useful if its point was just 'use sufficient contrast'. As it is, the article is overly prescriptive, and feels like trying too hard to be sensational or cute.
- I was reviewing a confluence page which was reviewed my many stakeholders. Something bugged me to an excruciating extent about the content of the page: something was off at some parts of the text. I inspected the page and it turns out the font color somehow changed to a mildly grayer color than black. This was likely due to a copy-and-paste that has gone wrong.
- For an opposing view, https://ianstormtaylor.com/design-tip-never-use-black/
by shevy-java
0 subcomment
- This is why I still use the marquee tag. It catches people's attention right away! Much more so than grey text on grey background could.
I do use pink for it though, usually pink on red or yellow background.
It makes people feel more engaged and they write all sorts of happy
emails about how epic blinking pink on rainbow ponicorn background
wallpapers are. The 90s were a great time for the global internets ...
- Your design will be looked at in direct sunlight on a six inch, non-color-calibrated screen. Stop using low contrast and extralight fonts.
Next time we'll ship your Mac. No, we won't give you a new one.
- More generally use a contrast checker on any pair of colours that are likely to be in juxtaposition and need to be legible.
Helpful of the website to demonstrate the problem in situ in its tag links and code comments! (Maybe just in dark mode?)
by SoftTalker
3 subcomments
- Dark/charcoal grey is better than pure black for text. But it's still dark enough that most people would call it black.
- Well, as long as you're not going to decide to make the dark background lighter to accommodate the brighter text...
But I would be in favor of sites using variables more so that personal customization is easier. But often this goes against their desire for "branding".
- Black text on a gray background is how the web was intended to be experienced.
- This ship has sailed a long time ago. The idea of "low contrast is good for the eyes" was popularized among designers well over a decade ago, together with another one that tiny fonts are elegant (I read HN at 120% and I don't wear glasses).
by washbasin
4 subcomments
- I created a ycombinator account after years of resisting, just to respond to this post.
Stop creating web pages with huge-ass gutters/margins.
If you are concerned about design you would realize your page looks ridiculous and borderline illegible on modern screens (that are not phones). Text color is an issue, but layout is worse.
by dolebirchwood
0 subcomment
- I appreciate the grey "LIKE?" text above the likes counter. Really drives the point home.
- Everyone should just use something like DarkReader to make these problems go away. Web devs who fiddle with the colors are annoying, but at least they are easy to ignore.
by designerarvid
0 subcomment
- Stupid rule. In that case, why ever change a color?
Just stick to ensuring WCAG 2 AA rating. If your awesome design isn’t AA there better be a good reason. If it is, everything’s fine.
by wobblywobbegong
1 subcomments
- Screen brightness is a pretty important contributing factor. If you have this problem a lot, verify your screen is bright enough. ( Regardless of his point )
by ChrisArchitect
0 subcomment
- A related piece from 2022 that gets a bit more into the why, readability and Accessibility Guidelines evolution etc.
Please Stop Using Grey Text (2022)
https://tangledweb.xyz/please-stop-using-grey-text-3d3e71acf... (https://archive.is/QictZ) [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31420938]
- Yes, I wish sites that use grey text should be investigated as part of the US disability act.
People with even minor sight issues can have a hard time with sites designed that way. When I run across a site like that I usually try it in lynx, if the site does not work in lynx, I block it on my system so I would not waste my time with it.
by signorovitch
0 subcomment
- I’m looking at gray text on an off-white background right now :P
- Back in the day, for people who spent many hours each day in front of a 'display':
1. People using TTY's used black ink on very-light-yellow roll paper, or
2. Those lucky enough to have ADM-3 VDT's often chose light green or
light orange on black.
Just sayin.
e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VT220#/media/File:DEC_VT220_te...
- > I actually believe increasing contrast for everyone improves the information density of our content.
You used css to change the pointer. So instead of the I-Beam I had to use a regular pointer to select that text. Information density is nice but information access shouldn't be compromised either.
Aside from that, while this is true, I'd think you'd then want something better for your users than "font-family: system-ui".
by lelandbatey
0 subcomment
- This takes me back to "contrast rebellion" back in 2011:
https://contrastrebellion.com/
by deafpolygon
0 subcomment
- Funny how he says not to use that grey text, yet uses a similar shade for the word “LIKE?” at the bottom.
- I thought that the grey /* comment */ block was a demonstration of what not to do. Then I realized it's just a part of the page
by spiderfarmer
0 subcomment
- Increase Your Font Size First (2026)
- While we're wishing, let's bring back serifs. I, for one, would like to be able to tell the difference between AI and Al without context clues, and using an inherently lossy font is the opposite of "readability".
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