Color appearance phenomena

Hunt effect

The colorfulness (chroma) of a color increases as light intensity is increased.

Low lightBright light

How it affects UI design

Decreasing chroma of colors in dark mode may give your interface a more natural appearance to colors.

People viewing your design on a low-lit display will see lower chromatic colors.

Sources:

  1. R.W.G. Hunt, M.R. Pointer (2011). Measuring Colour. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Pages 440
  2. Michel Berthier, Edoardo Provenzi (2021). Hunt’s Colorimetric Effect from a Quantum Measurement Viewpoint. Springer. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-80209-7_20
  3. Mark D. Fairchild (2013). Color Appearance Models. 3rd edition. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Pages 125-127