Why Is This Page Black?

Why are the page you came from and this one black with white text instead of the "standard" white with black text? "Why can't you make your web pages look like everyone else's"?

An excellent question. Why, indeed? Aside from the obvious answer of "Why be like everyone else?", there are several other reasons. But first, a little history.

In the beginning, computer screens all used bright characters on a dark background. This was done for two main reasons. The first was that it's a lot easier to generate a few characters on a background that has nothing happening to it rather than generate a full-screen sized picture all the time. Secondly, it saves a lot of energy. Old monitors lasted much longer if they weren't asked to run a lot of bright things across them. When the Graphical User Interface (GUI) was created, it was thought that new computer users would feel more comfortable if their data appeared as words on paper rather than an "alien" computer screen. This tied in well with the use of terms like desktop, folder, etc.

Today, video technology has changed. New monitors use less energy and produce much sharper, more colorful images. However, that doesn't mean we're all required to stare at white screens all day. In fact, we probably shouldn't. So we're back to the question, "why black backgrounds?" Let's find some answers.

Reason #1: Your Eyes
Human visual perception is actually based on seeing light things on dark backgrounds. The human eye is always drawn to the brightest thing in the field of vision. We are sensitive to too much light, which is why we wear sunglasses when it's bright out. We shade our eyes to see in the distance. We can distinguish very small amounts of light at night. Many people with visual disabilities become very sensitive to bright light. Therefore, your eyes are drawn more by these white words on black than they are to black words on white. With a white background, it is easier for the eyes to wander and lose focus. Also, colors stand out much more on black than they do on white. See the example, below.

A brief note on these theories: In many instances, some colors do stand out better on light colors, particularly when used on paper or similar media. The effect depends on the type of light being perceived by the viewer. More on this below.

Reason #2: Light
This is where we get into the significant differences between computers and the rest of the world. Most of the light that we see is reflected light. That is, light from the source (the sun, a lamp, etc.) strikes the object and is reflected toward our eyes. We can view reflected light of very high intensity before it's uncomfortable, and we can do it for a long time. We do it every day. When you read a book in your favorite chair, the paper is comfortable and easy to read because the light is being reflected off of it. On the other hand, the light that produces the words you're reading right now is transmitted light. It comes straight from the source into your eyes, so that very little of it is lost. If you look directly at a light bulb, you usually have to shade your eyes because it's too bright, just as you should never look directly into the sun.

Astronomers use the difference between transmitted and reflected light to observe the sun. Instead of trying to look directly at the sun (transmitted light), they shine the light through a small hole onto a piece of paper or cardboard, and look at the image there (reflected light). This is the only safe way to look at the sun.

So let's put this all together and see what we get. Below is an example of what I'm talking about. Both tables contain identical data. All that's changed is the background color. I have tried to use colors that are often used in "traditional" web pages. Text is black or white unless otherwise noted.

If you want to make your own example of this principle, try this simple experiment. Take a piece of paper with writing on it and read it under normal light. Then, take a flashlight or other strong light source and hold the paper up to it, so the light is shining through the paper from the back. Now try to read it. See the difference?

If you have any comments or questions, please feel free to email me.

Please use the back button on your browser to return to the page you came here from.