Optimizing Display for My Wonky Eyes & Brain

[jesse_the_k]

When I began computing, everything was dark mode: green pixels on a gray-green screen.

I was thrilled when the Mac showed up with black on white! So much easier on the eyes! I was mystified and repelled when Adobe products began showing a dark UI. Now it’s the hot new thing--the next version of iOS will offer it.

I learned a lot from TidBITS’s deep dive into why dark mode isn’t actually that much easier on the eyes.

https://tidbits.com/2019/05/31/the-dark-side-of-dark-mode/

The full article discusses the science of visual perception, and acknowledges its conclusions are relevant to typical eyesight. Some people’s vision requirements are different, and I’m very glad that modern computer systems let us change displays to optimize for what we can see.

Last week when I was kvelling about my new glasses, killing_rose explained how rose-colored glasses minimized migraine

The TidBITS article linked me to Charles Mauer’s earlier in-depth exploration of optimizing display for easy reading. He includes a technique for identifying a helpful tint and then applying that tint through software controls:

https://tidbits.com/2018/03/15/better-than-the-printed-page-reading-on-an-ipad/

To see if you may be helped by a tinted screen, I created this test using colours that Wilkins suggested. backup It’s a rough electronic equivalent of a test he developed using transparent plastic overlays. Click through its different colours. If one of them makes the text clearer or more stable or easier to read in any other way, then tint your iPad’s screen. Don’t expect to duplicate the colour of the test exactly — it’s just a starting point — but fiddle with the hue and intensity sliders in Settings > General > Accessibility > Display Accommodations > Color Filter.

I used Mauer’s tint test and learned that overlaying a light pink on my screen made my eyes just sigh with relief. I used the Inspect element command on my browser’s context menu to identify this friendly color and I’ve been applying it everywhere I can. I use it for the background on web pages and my ereader. Following Mauer’s suggestions. I’ve now adjusted the color temperature of my screen on both my Mac and iPad. It’s really made computer work and reading more pleasant.

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My winning color: Hex: #FFEBF7
RGBA(255, 235, 247, 1)
HSL(324, 100%, 96%)
CMYB(0%, 8%, 3%, 0%)

ETA Feb 2021:

• Setting Color Filters on iOS 14
• Adjusting Screen Color Calibration in macOS

Comments

[recently_folded]

I parted ways with f.lux because, first, the red made me feel as though I were reading sitting on the edge of the glowing pits of hell. And, second, because the versions that I tried wouldn't let me adjust for latitude, and it's just crazy-making when your screen goes dim while the sun is high in the sky.

I've come to greater peace with black-on-grey, having discovered myself to be a monochrome sort of person. Who knew? But it's nice to relax my forehead and eye muscles.

[mdlbear]

I tried redshift on Linux and encountered similar problems. I found that I was always having to turn it off, so...