Back in Black [Archive]

wenwilder

11-12-2003, 09:16 PM

And I'm not referring to the AC/DC song.

Websites with black backgrounds have always been an annoyance of mine. Mainly because I think they look amateur-ish.

But....I have to concede that I have found some sites, with black backgrounds, that look great. Unfortunately, I have seen more bad black background sites. For example (and I can post this one and let you tear it apart because it is.....truly horrible and truly one of my own from six years ago): http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Quasar/3132/MidnightLandsCastle.html For what the site was created for, it worked. :)

On the other hand, and to be fair, I have found(?) two sites that I think have a good use of black. I say found lightly because they are both local companies to me, and created by a local company who started out badly but has done great things.

1. http://www.twomblyarena.com/
2. http://www.nebeef.org/

I'm not trying to advertise for the companies, that's not my goal here. :) I want to know your view of websites with black backgrounds. Love'em or hate'em?

matauri

11-13-2003, 10:31 AM

OK...I'll bite :-)

If the site is planned, & pleasing on eye & easy to navigate...I prefer a well done black background.

There is nothing I hate more than visiting numerous sites & them all blending into each other. White on grey, grey on white, pale yellow, etc. They may be very well done, but more often than not, most are just pretty well just 'there'.

The only drawback as far as black background goes...is the unprintability of them. So if it's an informational site, it is a dud (and I have a few old one of those being fixed !) :)

But I like colour, well chosen colours, and on the paler/white backgrounds they can look realllly tacky & hit you in the face. Lime green or orange on a white background....(sunglasses time!)...done well on a black background can be very artistic.

But...I am biased of course :-)

Cindy

Jurgen

11-15-2003, 01:49 AM

carbonize

11-15-2003, 02:36 AM

Would of thought Matauri would of liked sites with black backgrounds as it proves they specified a background colour :oþ

matauri

11-15-2003, 04:19 AM

Would of thought Matauri would of liked sites with black backgrounds as it proves they specified a background colour :oþ

Thought I certified you mate ;-)

But FYI....

I prefer a well done black background

You can have bright fluorescent pink as the background colour (wont guarentee that I like it), as long as you specify a background colour :-)

If I have to be cross everything else friendly...so can ppl who don't put background colours :-)

Cindy

veenashekar

11-15-2003, 04:47 AM

hi,
i somehow always felt that black is beautiful. Provided the site is well made. Red letters on black give it a feeling of morbidity. and most other font colours do not stand out. white is better.
I have made my home page in black
http://www.vdesigns-blr.com
Do check it out and tell me if the colour is pleasing or otherwise. Well I suppose you can never use the word pleasing to black.
Many times i use dark navy blue instead of black. that looks awesome .

veenashekar

11-15-2003, 04:51 AM

carbonize

11-15-2003, 05:06 AM

I used to have a black background as can been seen in the screenshot at http://www.alexa.com/data/details/?url=www.carbonize.co.uk despite the fact I changed the design about a year ago and have repeatedly used the "update the screenshot" option.

Narasinha

11-16-2003, 05:19 PM

Black background with green monospaced text gives that "retro" computer terminal feeling. Useful, if that's what you're going for. Black backgrounds are good for displays of more colorful content within the page. Flash "intros" or demonstrations can benefit from the contrast with the surrounding blackness.

Black can always be good for the background of a page where dark text is placed inside other block elements with a light background color. Contrast is your friend. ;)

Still, it's best to keep your viewers in mind. Who is your target audience? If you're looking to get every goth in town to your site, black is a good thing. If you're selling equipment to the local pensioners, it might not go over too well.

redcircle

11-18-2003, 02:38 AM

I used to love black backgrounds also. lol

www.monsterenergy.com does a good job at it.

wenwilder

11-18-2003, 02:55 PM

I used to love black backgrounds also. lol

www.monsterenergy.com does a good job at it.

That is a cool site! And I'm not a fan of black and green, or black and red, or black and.....well you get the idea. :)

What about other dark backgrounds? I've seen dark red and dark blue one's that make you question the thought behind the design. Have you seen the same thing?

voodooboy

11-26-2003, 03:12 PM

I have to agree with Matauri, that if done right a black background is a very nice design element. I also agree with wenwilder that other colors can be used instead of black. For example I have a little pet project in development where I use a dark red color for the background. Feel free to criticize.

http://www.ghostdragons.com/

matauri

11-27-2003, 12:31 AM

Yes I like that colour Ghost, looks good.

I also like the Site Requirements feature. Tells users from the start what to expect. If software can do it, why not webware ;-)

Cindy

redcircle

11-28-2003, 09:41 AM

good use ghost.. I anticipate content :)

voodooboy

12-01-2003, 09:53 AM

Thank you for the compliments Cindy and redcircle. I will be posting this site in the site-for-review section after the first of the year. This is a project I have been working on for sometime in and out of paying jobs. It is in the same realm as ninjai.com; an animated series focused around Martial Arts. The main difference between Ghost Dragons and Ninjai is the fact that Ghost Dragons is geared more towards teaching the values and morals of Martial Arts instead of just a bunch of blood and killing. I look forward to seeing your reviews when I get it finished and posted in the forums.

And as for color, I had black as my main background color for a long time. I went for the red as it still had that solid look and feel but lightened it up a little so it didn't seem so ominous.

stillgreen

01-21-2004, 04:57 PM

While I personally love black and other dark colored backgrounds, they are pretty hard to work with.

I'm very new to web design though not to print. I'm too old to go back to school so I come here and learn how to transition my skills.

All the sites I've tried in dark colors have been very dismal. Thanks for some great examples of what I could have done.

vilesilencer

01-24-2004, 01:05 AM

I've often held the view, with a few peers, that black background sites were the easiest to design whilst white background sites were the hardest. And in that context I've always thought that a black background site was amateur.

Using my personal site as an example. My first site was black, and I found it easier than any other colour to get it looking good. From there I moved to a red on cream site, which was infinitely more creative, then a grey variations with orange, and finally i have a white site, which i've been playing around with.

I do agree that some of the sites can start to look like one another with the standard colour choices people choose, but for me I've always thought that unless a business is signified by it's colour, then the printer friendly and professional white site, with splashes of colour makes the best site.

I have done a cream and green site for a company, but it was created because they wanted that colour. It is how people know them.

MikeDF

01-25-2004, 03:05 PM

Hi folks
One of my first sites started out as a set of images linked together til I had a little more idea what I was doing - (I stress little more idea!)The guys won't let me change it now!!
www.vinylmonkeys.comI guess it all depends on the site and what it's all about. One other site I've been involved with is the Storey Henrit - www.storeyhenrit.co.uk Blues site. Its a VERY dark blue and seems to work ok - they don't want it changed either!! So, horses for courses I guess.
Hope the sites don't offend the colour police!!
Cheers

siegbrunn

02-16-2004, 05:51 PM

I hate black backgrounds. I have always found them extraordinarily difficult to read no matter what the font size and scrolling any color text on black makes my eyeballs hurt. I usually end up selecting the text to invert the color values so I can read it. And sometimes that means, just so I can find the text, which is often in a dark color of some kind. Who do they think will be able to read that?

A note in passing - I looked at the websites Wenwilder recommended
On the other hand, and to be fair, I have found(?) two sites that I think have a good use of black. Might I point out, these sites do NOT have text on black background. The text is, in both cases, on lighter panels which themselves rest on a black background. With that I have no problem. Just with text directly on black. BTW I looked at the Midnight Lands Castle site as well and my screen seemed to begin "strobing" as soon as I tried to scroll the text. Gachhhh!

Well there, I've said my piece. I can only promise that in the future I will not personally contribute to the wasteland of "text on black" websites out there.

Karen

N30

02-17-2004, 09:19 AM

If it's done well black sites can look stunning.

It's a shame there are so many bad sites out there.

eightfifteen

02-18-2004, 01:00 PM

There are times when black backgrounds are not only acceptable, but almost necessary. A site I did some time ago, http://www.gatewaydance.org would have looked ridiculous with a white background.

As long as people keep in mind that on a black backgound, anything with color is going to be almost over-the-top striking. And unless that is the look that you want, it is best to go with shades of grey to compliment.

siegbrunn

02-18-2004, 02:19 PM

eightfifteen I wouldn't argue with you over the fact that there are cases where designwise, black is the only way to go. I looked at the Gateway site and it's stunning and I agree only black was right. Bur even there . . .

for example on the "About GDT" page (http://www.gatewaydance.org/history.html) the text is a little bit "slow reading" for me (because of the white on black), but the text is a sensible size and I can handle it. However the picture captions I find are nearly invisible to me and on the Upcoming and Previous Events side http://www.gatewaydance.org/spotlight.html I find the "sub-text" under the dates very hard to read and must fall back on selecting the text to invert the colors. My vision is not BTW particulary poor and with glasses I'm damn near 20/20) The same size text in dark on a light background never presents a problem.

This of course doesn't BEGIN to approach the difficulty of most of the white (or red, or dark blue(!) or green or whatever) on black pages that are out there.

Let me repeat however, despite my prejudices, the Gateway Dance site is really beautiful and worth a look.
Karen

eightfifteen

02-18-2004, 04:58 PM

Thanks for the input - I might have to revisit the site. Sometimes I have to keep in mind that Macs and PC's have different resolutions, and small type on a Mac can be darned unreadable on a PC.

bebarrett

02-20-2004, 02:18 PM

It's all about the content.

Musician sites can look a little silly against a light background ...unless the music is whimsical... Otherwise, if you have a light background, photos you use need to look like they are seemless against the rest of the design, or they just don't look right.

I'm sure there are exceptions, but in general, it's easier.

siegbrunn

02-21-2004, 09:13 AM

dear eightfifteen
Just looked at a black background site that could make me change my mind (a little) on the subject. Looking at a site submitted for review http://www.artofvenice.com/ and on his start apge he is using a (bold?) san-serif text (Arial?) in medium yellow on a black ground. Even with my browser set to "smallest" for font size - I'm thrilled! I can still read it! (It takes so little to make me happy these days - sigh)

Bebarrett - for me it's almost never a question of "is it appropriate?" it's a question of "can I READ the damned thing?" And a lot of websites seem to find readability a rather low priority.

Karen

eightfifteen

02-23-2004, 11:25 AM

Glad those cataracts haven't kicked in yet.

bebarrett

02-24-2004, 07:32 AM

Some "content" is much better when written in really dark gray on black ;^)

siegbrunn

02-24-2004, 04:35 PM

Some "content" is much better when written in really dark gray on black ;^)

Now ain't that the truth! :)

Karen

Electronic Perceptions

02-25-2004, 11:22 AM

I don't usually care for black backgrounds either, but I do feel they "fit" in various circumstances. Most are not done overly well though unfortunately :(

I've seen some great examples in here, and one I personally like is http://www.thescaryguy.com I *love* the way his picture integrates on the main page.

Now the original design on that site really sucked... and I can say that because I'm the one that put it up. It was made the way it was made by request, but I still hated it. You might not believe the whirly gigs and fanatic flashing things that used to be there!

Even though I don't do design and webmaster work anymore, I still like to look at old sites I originally launched just to see how they've come along. And this is one that's actually evolved really nicely in the past couple of years.

BTW, the monster site referenced in an earlier post - I *love* the green eyes! :)

johnm

02-27-2004, 07:20 PM

ooh. That MidnightLandsCastle had a little Goth thing going on. Personally I like the way coasttocoastam.com uses black as it's primary color scheme without overkill.

BitMaP

02-27-2004, 08:30 PM

I don't think the problem lies with the background, it lies with overall design and the choice of text color and graphics color. Black is essential when you want to create certain moods.

ldyguique

03-01-2004, 06:42 AM

I personally fall in the "don't like dark backgrounds" camp -- and mostly because the vast majority of them are impossible to read. So, having said that, yes, there are some spectacular websites done with black backgrounds, and generally, I could not imagine a more perfect background for them.

Since I'm the Queen of copy/paste, I can generally highlight any text and get it into the readable zone IF I'm in the mood. My "job function" in life is finding the content that I'm seeking; so, I simply put up with all of the web design nonsense that is inflicted on me. I have to admit that the poorer the design, the less likely that I'm going to trust the content, though; although, even THAT is in context.

Some subject matter belongs to the "Cult of Black," and it can be very valid for THAT topic. I expect it and break out the highlight skills.

It's very unlikely that I'll design a black background site as I'm very sensitive to the unreadability of it and I can never quite forget all of the novice and older net users out there -- they really don't have the skills to highlight, etc. But, if given the opportunity to design an art site at some future time, I would reconsider black as the content IS the graphics and they set off well to black.

Wildflowerdyes

03-04-2004, 12:36 PM

siegbrunn

03-04-2004, 05:44 PM

I have only viewed my site on my computer so don't know if it looks readable on others. Opions would be great!
Thanks, Val

It's terrifying to think, but I believe I can remember when tie-dyes were NEW!! This frightening thought aside, I Was really interested in viewing your site but it won't load past the header (which I only know because I viewed the source text to see if anything at all was there). The main address of http://www.wildflowerdyes.com shunts over to http://www.wildflowerdyes.com/page/page/713109.htm and then tries to load. Is that right? Perhaps it's just a glitch. I'll try again later.
Karen (jes annuther ol' hippie)

Wildflowerdyes

03-04-2004, 06:07 PM

siegbrunn - you are right. www.wildflowerdyes.com is just my domain. My host address (the one it skips to) is: http://www.wildflowerdyes.com/page/page/713109.htm
Noone has ever said this was a problem (oh no!), is it still not loading?

Val

Wildflowerdyes

03-04-2004, 06:10 PM

P.S. LOVE THE CATS!!!!

siegbrunn

03-04-2004, 06:22 PM

Ten minutes later and I can load the site. As the contributer who above stated that I loathe most black background sites on principle because so many are unreadable, I must say I found yours really nice and your stuff is just great (cool? groovy?). Black is certainly the right color background for your tye-dyesIMHO. If I had a baby (or grandkid - let's be realistic) I would instantly order one of the baby outfits, they're so cute I can hardly stand it.

In looking at the sarong page I began to comprehend the amount of work that goes into each piece - wow. Beautiful.

A small suggestion, if the "in between" pages have to be there for the structure, then put a thumbnail picture for each new choice (for example.: "choose 'Girl's Dresses' or 'Women's Sarongs'"). Otherwise we have to wait too long to see any of your work beyond the pix on the opening page.

Good luck, nice stuff.

Just about to upload this and I see you've already answered. :) Loads fine now as I said and as far as I know the page address thing is no problem. I just thought it might have something to do with the loading problem, but now I'm sure it was just a glitch. Did you visit Kipsykat?
Karen

Wildflowerdyes

03-05-2004, 01:47 PM

siegbrunn- thanks for visiting my site! I went to your site (Kipsykat), wonderful! Sounds like an exciting life!

I'm not sure what you mean by:
"A small suggestion, if the "in between" pages have to be there for the structure, then put a thumbnail picture for each new choice (for example.: "choose 'Girl's Dresses' or 'Women's Sarongs'"). Otherwise we have to wait too long to see any of your work beyond the pix on the opening page."

Nice meeting you! Thanks for your post!
Val

Wildflowerdyes

03-05-2004, 01:48 PM

siegbrunn

03-06-2004, 11:38 AM

Hi again! By "in-between" pages I meant for instance http://www.wildflowerdyes.com/page/page/731307.htm or http://www.wildflowerdyes.com/page/page/722999.htm- here you leave the visitor waiting for still another page to load and she hasn't yet seen a sample of the category. Shove a few thumbnails in there! Lure them on! I find for myself, unless I'm very motivated to dig further, if I get the least bit tired of "digging", I click away to another site. I think of it myself as "don't ever let the fish lose sight of the lure, or you'll lose him".

rocky1

03-18-2004, 04:38 PM

Ok,
I don't like black background or a boring white.... Just my opinion...

On my site I am using a light green as a background. Maybe this isn't the right color either, so tear me apart... :-) Let me know, thanks.

Jurgen
www.absolutelyfabulousflowers.com

Have to agree with you on the white, although I just went to an off white on my site from black! I prefer a bit of color in my work too, but folks weren't taking my black background seriously so, it got changed!

Your colors work for me Jurgen, in fact I think they look right nice. The gray looks great in there over the green, which if you had simply explained that one, I'd have never believed it. The two actually compliment each other, as far as I'm concerned.

What did catch my eye however, was the variety of fonts you're using. I make somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 - 12 font styles and weights, and six different colors?

rocky1

03-18-2004, 05:34 PM

Well......I'm a little scared to post here because I have a black background for my tie dye website and can't possibly change it ( I took all my photo on black. All 400 of them and can’t imagine changing them), so I hope it works and looks good......I think that black is the best back drop to emphasize the vibrant colors one would get in my tie dyed items (if purchased). Do you think it works? I have only viewed my site on my computer so don't know if it looks readable on others. Opinions would be great!
Thanks, Val

Would hate to see you tied to that black background forever Val. (Pardon the Pun) Someday you may want to change background colors and when you do I hope you have stashed a copy of this away somewhere for safe keeping.

Many graphics programs will allow you to convert an image to .gif and Save it for Web format, wherein the background color can be eliminated leaving only the focus object. I'm using IRFanview (http://www.irfanview.com/) and it's a real simple process. Click "Save As" select "Save for Web" set your transparency level, and click Go. It will ask you to click on the transparent color, wherein you click the black background in your case, and all that's left is the picture of your shirt, so it'll work over any background. It really is that simple!

The only problem you will run into is black t-shirts and possibly black elements within the shirt. For the most part it appears that isn't going to be an issue for you.

Easywebdev

08-05-2004, 06:17 AM

For me black backgrounds do have their place, game sites, rock band sites etc. Those type of sites just arent going to "look" with a white background, they will end up with a corporate feel.

The only site I ever designed with a black background is for a game (mud) that I program in my spare time, http://www.arantha.com and I just could not come up with anything I liked for it with anything other than a black background.

I don't like to see e-commerce/corporate sites with black backgrounds as I feel when it comes to e-commerce the user is generally "window shopping" and they wont go to far into that shop that is dark rather than well lit and welcoming.

greatesc

10-28-2004, 08:23 PM

Black has alway been my favorite for our homepage background, but we have tried everything, and it never seems to make much of a difference. I have looked at all the sites that you all have showed and they look great. Sometimes I think the colors and backgrounds can be a personal expression of the author and if it works, well, go for it