Site Graphics and Multimedia Design

My goal is to have my site accessible to the widest range of viewers possible. I appreciate any help and info you guys can give me.

From a non accessibility stand point you may want to condsider the effect that black screen/white text has on a users perception of content. I watched new users navigate page mockups and asked them to write down their first impressions. The black background white text style was often pigeonholed as 'entertainment' or 'youth'? Not 'high design' nor 'corporate' as I imaginged it would be. Strangely the mock up was for an Architects Practice and simply switching back to white background and black text the user test results gave a much more positive 'businesslike' and 'professional' response and unsurprisingly was the style the clients chose too.

This was only a local experiment for one design but I found the results interesting. Perhaps you could ask some people to give their perception of style for both coloured and white backgrounds. See if it changes your view. Quite often the designer can become too engrossed in aesthetics and miss the obvious by not stepping back from the screen.

most people I know who worked a great deal on DOS systems using black screen /white text have the same problems ..

For your eyes sake ..dont

[edited by: Leosghost at 12:47 pm (utc) on Sep. 13, 2004]

I have no particular vision problems, so I assume I'm not the only one with this trouble. I would recommend using a pale background rather than a black one. If accessibility is important, then I find a medium to large text size of a slightly off-black (say #333) color on a white or pale background is best. Keep the graphical elements surrounding the text, but not beneath it.

I learned that it is better to use a sans serif font and to have either a #666666 grey or an off white/cream type color.

See, I'm kind of bored with the black text on a white background. It is everywhere, but if that is the only choice for web usability, then I'll have to join the billions of other websites.

There is a lot to be said for simplicity. There is nothing wrong with white background and black text. In fact, it’s the most widely accepted, and easiest to view. Separate yourself from the other billion websites by adding superior content. With the best content your visitors won’t care what color your text is (so long as they can read it without developing caterax).

If you large blocks of text (news-type articles, etc.), however, white is probably better.

That is how my first site is- the large content/informational website.

My new site (the one I asked about) will be a directory type site for websites on my topic. There will be a few tutorial type pages on my subject, but not THAT many. This site is built more for performing 3 way link exchanges with other high quality sites.

Thanks everyone, you helped me very much!

That said, my partner (husband) really pushed for a black background and over time I hope to lighten it up gradually so we're dealing more with a traditional contrast such as is found in matted & framed photographs -- sometimes a subtle difference is all that's needed.

For content heavy pages on a dark background site, I use a stylesheet (so someone can overried it if needed, or size up the text so it's more readable) and I tend to shorten the line length by a wide margin and add more line height so there's more breathing room. Dark backgrounds sort of "suck in" the type that's placed on them, making it more difficult to read.

I'm not a typographer by trade, but certain fonts are more readable against dark backgrounds. I'm still experimenting, as all my previous design inclications (except during my BBS days where all we had was CGA color for the most part) have been to avoid dark backgrounds at all costs.

I don't have any irritating flicker or other radiation problems that come with a CRT. On my LCD a black background with grey text looks marvelous.

I better not get used to web design on a flat screen, because most users are using CRTs, for many years to come!