You may have heard more about dark mode recently – perhaps it’s already your favourite option when using your phone or laptop?  Or you may have heard of it but not yet considered the impact it has on your marketing and branding.  In this article, we shed light (pun intended!) on what Dark Mode is and why people are using it.

What is Dark Mode?

Dark Mode is a display setting for user interfaces, such as a smartphone or laptop. The idea behind Dark Mode is that it reduces the light emitted by device screens while maintaining the minimum colour contrast ratios required for readability.

In short, Dark Mode reverses the colour scheme of user interfaces from light to dark. Oddly enough, Dark Mode actually predates Light Mode by a few decades – think of the likes of Ceefax (if like me you’re old enough to remember!)

Dark Mode is here to stay and, as more platforms roll it out, it’s something businesses need to wise up to. Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Gmail and Apple’s iOS have all introduced dark modes in the last 12 months and the movement shows no sign of slowing down. LinkedIn will be launching it from the end of October – more information on this later.

Why people are migrating to Dark Mode

With people spending more and more time on screens, their devices’ bright white light and blue light can often contribute to eye strain. This in turn can lead to headaches, disrupted sleep patterns and other discomforts in users.

Dark Mode has been found to decrease this, especially when looking at a device under darker lighting conditions (nighttime and dimly lit rooms are a prime example).  From a user perspective, there are obviously some clear benefits of using Dark Mode. The benefit for businesses is that, if you get your branding working well in Dark Mode, it could help you stand out from competitors.

How will Dark Mode affect your marketing?

Your company’s branding colours and how you use images can look very different in Dark Mode on your website, in email marketing, on online ads and now on social media platforms.

Optimising your emails for Dark Mode is a must. Some steps you can take are to make sure each image section you build in spans the full width of the email and fills in any potential gaps with additional white image pieces. This will keep the email’s look and feel consistent across both light and dark modes.

Also consider the density of text and keep paragraphs short and sentences concise.

Do try avoiding dark grey or white transparent text images, as these do not work well when converted to dark backgrounds.  If your logo is on a transparent background, you should also review that for Dark Mode.

The key here is to keep testing and test again! Review all your digital marketing in both Light and Dark modes, and make sure you have logos and graphics that be seen clearly in both.

LinkedIn Launches Dark Mode

Equally keen to jump on the Dark Mode movement, LinkedIn will be officially launching its own Dark Mode to all users by the end of October. Some users may have access to it now as there is a staggered rollout.

The move will allow members to toggle their LinkedIn view from light to dark or align with their system settings across all platforms.

Dark Mode implications for LinkedIn Company, Product and Showcase pages

If you have one of these pages on LinkedIn the Dark Mode view may well affect how your current logo appears. LinkedIn are recommending companies reviewing their logo in Dark Mode between now and the end of October 2021. See here for a reminder of the dimensions LinkedIn require for images on different parts of an organisation’s pages.

Summary

Going forward, do think about all the aspects of your marketing that are affected by the use of Light and Dark Mode and work through checking how they appear in both modes.  Don’t forget your audience will comprise those favouring Dark mode and those sticking with Light. To appeal to the whole audience, you need to cater for and look good in both of these settings.

For more advice on marketing your business contact us or tel. 01483 429111.