How EclipsePalette Streamlines Accessible Dark-Mode ColorsDark mode is no longer a novelty — it’s an expectation. Users prize interfaces that are easier on the eyes in low-light conditions, conserve battery on OLED devices, and convey a modern aesthetic. But designing for dark mode is not as simple as inverting colors. Accessibility, contrast, legibility, and consistent visual hierarchy require deliberate choices. EclipsePalette is a color system built specifically to address those challenges. This article explains how EclipsePalette streamlines creating accessible dark-mode color schemes for designers and developers.
Why dark mode needs its own color system
Dark backgrounds change how colors behave: perceived contrast shifts, saturation can feel exaggerated, and subtle differences become harder to detect. Common pitfalls include:
- Reduced legibility for body text when contrast ratios are too low.
- Visual noise when many saturated colors appear on dark backgrounds.
- Loss of hierarchy when shadows and highlights are improperly balanced.
- Poor accessibility for users with low vision or color deficiency.
A dedicated system like EclipsePalette provides rules and pretested tokens that avoid these pitfalls, saving time and reducing iteration between design and engineering.
Core principles of EclipsePalette
EclipsePalette uses a few core design principles that make dark-mode theming predictable and accessible:
- Contrast-first: Tokens are chosen to meet WCAG contrast thresholds for the intended use (text, UI components, icons).
- Perceptual tuning: Colors are tuned in perceptual color spaces (like L*ab or OKLab) rather than RGB to ensure predictable hue and lightness relationships.
- Semantic tokens: Colors are named by function (e.g., surface-0, text-primary, accent-success) so components use intent-driven tokens rather than raw hex values.
- Controlled saturation: Saturation levels are reduced for UI surfaces to prevent visual vibration on dark backgrounds.
- Elevation-aware shading: Surface tones shift subtly with elevation (modal, card, toolbar) to maintain separation without strong borders.
Token structure and naming
EclipsePalette uses a clear token hierarchy that makes implementation straightforward:
- Surface tokens: surface-0 (base canvas), surface-1 (cards), surface-2 (elevated surfaces)
- Text tokens: text-primary, text-secondary, text-disabled
- Accent tokens: accent-500 (main accent), accent-300 (subtle), accent-700 (strong emphasis)
- Semantic tokens: success, warning, danger (each with accessible variants)
- Border & focus tokens: border-default, focus-ring
This semantic approach reduces developer errors and makes runtime theme adjustments safer.
Contrast and WCAG compliance
EclipsePalette provides precomputed pairs of foreground and background tokens that meet WCAG AA and AAA where appropriate:
- Body copy: meets WCAG AA (minimum 4.5:1 contrast) against surface-0.
- UI labels and secondary text: tuned for WCAG AA large text and often reach AAA for clarity.
- Iconography and controls: paired with states (hover/active/disabled) that preserve contrast thresholds.
By shipping tested token pairs, teams avoid last-minute accessibility fixes and audits.
Perceptual color tuning: why it matters
Working in perceptual color spaces like OKLab or L*ab allows EclipsePalette to:
- Maintain consistent perceived lightness across hues (so blue and red at “same” lightness actually look equal).
- Adjust chroma (saturation) independently from lightness to avoid oversaturated highlights on dark surfaces.
- Generate accessible variants algorithmically — for example, darkening an accent without changing its perceptual hue.
This reduces manual tweaking and produces more consistent results across UI elements.
Practical examples: common components
- Buttons: Primary buttons use accent-500 on surface-1 with an accessible text-primary token. Disabled states switch to a muted accent-300 while preserving readable labels.
- Inputs: Input backgrounds use surface-1 with subtle border-default lines. Focus uses a low-chroma focus-ring that maintains contrast without glare.
- Cards & elevation: Surface tokens transition (surface-0 → surface-1 → surface-2) by small perceptual lightness steps, preserving depth without harsh borders.
- Alerts: Semantic tokens (success, warning, danger) include background and text pairs that meet contrast ratios whether the alert appears on surface-0 or surface-1.
Implementation strategies
EclipsePalette can be implemented in several environments:
- CSS custom properties: Expose semantic tokens as –eclipse-surface-0, –eclipse-text-primary, etc., and switch maps for dark vs. light themes.
- Design tokens (JSON): Store tokens in a tokens.json and export to platform-specific formats (Android XML, iOS Asset Catalog, Figma tokens).
- Component libraries: Wrap tokens in themed component variants so designers and devs use high-level props (e.g., ) rather than colors.
Tooling that auto-converts perceptual tokens into platform-ready formats keeps parity across web and native apps.
Accessibility testing and automation
EclipsePalette encourages automated checks:
- Contrast tests during CI using tools that verify token pairs meet WCAG thresholds.
- Visual regression tests that compare components across themes to catch unintended contrast changes.
- Color-blindness simulators and heuristics to ensure semantic colors remain distinguishable.
Automating these checks reduces manual QA and ensures consistent accessibility as the product evolves.
Benefits for teams
- Faster iteration: Designers can apply prevalidated tokens instead of repeatedly testing contrast.
- Fewer accessibility defects: Built-in WCAG-compliant pairs cut down post-release fixes.
- Cross-platform consistency: Shared tokens ensure the same visual language on web and native apps.
- Scalability: Semantic tokens let large codebases update color intent (e.g., change “accent” globally) without hunting hex codes.
Limitations and considerations
- Perceptual tuning requires tooling and expertise; teams may need to adopt color libraries or converters.
- Extremely custom brand colors may need manual adjustment to meet contrast in dark mode.
- Testing on actual devices (OLED vs LCD) is still recommended — perceived contrast and bloom can differ.
Getting started checklist
- Adopt EclipsePalette’s semantic tokens in your design system.
- Integrate token JSON into build tooling and export platform assets.
- Run automated contrast checks in CI.
- Replace raw hex usage in components with tokens.
- Test on real devices and with assistive tools (screen readers, color-blind simulators).
EclipsePalette reduces friction when building accessible dark-mode interfaces by combining perceptual color science, semantic tokens, and automation-friendly tooling. The result: interfaces that look deliberate in low light, work better for everyone, and scale across platforms.
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