Re:Safari 15 on Mac OS, a user interface mess
by defaultname on Saturday June 19, 2021 @06:26PM
(#27565067)
That is indeed fascinating, but has positively no bearing on someone's off the cuff perceived opinion about readability.
Re:Safari 15 on Mac OS, a user interface mess
by tambourine_man on Saturday June 19, 2021 @07:19PM
(#27565456)
It’s not off the cuff. It uses the site’s background as it’s own and has to guesstimate what color the letters on top must have in order to remain legible.
Compare the job of this algorithm, having to deal with a crazy amount of possible color combo, to that of an experienced UX designer making just a dark and light theme, both thoroughly tested, and you can begin to grasp the trouble they’ve put themselves into.
It has been running for centuries. It’s called typography. Its rules are not arbitrary and legibility is the most important one.
No need for scare quotes around readability. It’s a science.
There’s a latitude of contrast ratio between which human eyes can comfortably withstand and discern tones. It varies across individuals, of course, but not as much as you might think. No human sees ultraviolet, for example. And even if you have 20/20 eyesight, you need to design for a much wider spectrum of the Bell curve if you care at all about accessibility.
You might be interested in checking the history and methods behind CIE 1931. Also, “The Elements of Typographic Style” is a deep but fascinating book.