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Product12 August 2021·3 min read

5 lessons we learned adding dark mode to Paycux

The best signal that a feature is right is not that people ask for it.

Paycux engineering

The best signal that a feature is right is not that people ask for it. It is that people describe their problem in the shape of it before you have built anything.

This piece walks through how we think about it at Paycux, what we have changed our minds about, and where the sharp edges are.

Measure the contrast ratio

Measure the contrast ratio deserves its own treatment. Naming is design work. If the team argues about what to call something, the disagreement is usually about what it is, and shipping before that is settled means shipping the confusion to customers.

Ship the smallest version that is honest about its limits. A feature that does one thing completely beats one that does five things with an asterisk on each.

Stay away from pure black

Stay away from pure black is where this gets concrete. Naming is design work. If the team argues about what to call something, the disagreement is usually about what it is, and shipping before that is settled means shipping the confusion to customers.

Naming is design work. If the team argues about what to call something, the disagreement is usually about what it is, and shipping before that is settled means shipping the confusion to customers.

  • Choose defaults as carefully as features
  • Settle the name before you ship the thing
  • Ship the smallest honest version
  • Say plainly what the feature does not do

Re-evaluate your color palette

That brings us to re-evaluate your color palette. Naming is design work. If the team argues about what to call something, the disagreement is usually about what it is, and shipping before that is settled means shipping the confusion to customers.

Ship the smallest version that is honest about its limits. A feature that does one thing completely beats one that does five things with an asterisk on each.

Establish the visual hierarchy

Establish the visual hierarchy is where this gets concrete. Defaults are the product. Most people will never open the settings screen, which means the behaviour you chose for them is the behaviour they will experience forever.

Naming is design work. If the team argues about what to call something, the disagreement is usually about what it is, and shipping before that is settled means shipping the confusion to customers.

Ship the smallest version that is honest about its limits.

Let the user choose

Consider let the user choose. Ship the smallest version that is honest about its limits. A feature that does one thing completely beats one that does five things with an asterisk on each.

Defaults are the product. Most people will never open the settings screen, which means the behaviour you chose for them is the behaviour they will experience forever.

Conclusion

That brings us to conclusion. Ship the smallest version that is honest about its limits. A feature that does one thing completely beats one that does five things with an asterisk on each.

Defaults are the product. Most people will never open the settings screen, which means the behaviour you chose for them is the behaviour they will experience forever.

Where this leaves us

If there is one thing worth taking away, it is that the expensive decisions are the ones made implicitly. Making them on purpose costs an afternoon.

If you are working through the same problem and want to compare notes, the docs cover the mechanics and the console shows the behaviour on your own data.

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