Elevate Your Workflow - Revit 2024 UI Themes & Colors
Judging by the sheer number of “Heart” emojis that appeared from the live audience in the Autodesk “What’s New in Revit 2024” webinar the other day, we think it’s safe to say that the “Dark theme” was a very welcome feature in the 2024 software release!
For those who do not know where to access this feature, you can go to File> Options>Colors within Autodesk? Revit? 2024. The dropdown menu for “UI active theme” is currently set to Light, and now you can set it to Dark.
Once you do that, the preset colors for Background, Selection, Pre-selection, Alert, Calculating, and Rebar Editing all change to reflect a darker theme.
Once you click OK, the colors all change to reflect a dark background and several other interface color changes.
Now that you know how to access this feature, it’s important to note that the topic of this newsletter does not stop there. Today we’re exploring why you might or might not want to use the Dark theme in the first place as well as offer some alternatives.
According to sources such as VisionCenter.org, there are concerns with blue light exposure and digital eye strain that can come from viewing screens for an extended period of time (Swain, 2022).
But first, what is blue light?
Blue light is a type of light that is part of the visible light spectrum, and most of our exposure to it is from the sun. Artificial sources of blue light, on the other hand, can come in high amounts from viewing computer screens, smartphones, and more. While some health experts are concerned about blue light, research is inconclusive about whether it truly damages our eyes (Swain, 2022).
Considerations with digital eye strain, poor sleep quality, and more are still reasons to take a closer look at optimizing your workflow. While Dark mode is an option, studies also say you may be able to get the same results by simply turning down the brightness of your screen (Swain, 2022).
While Dark mode might be more pleasing to the eye for some, it doesn't apply to everyone across the board. For some, a light text against a dark background can be difficult to read. In fact, dark themes can inadvertently create accessibility issues while trying to address them at the same time. For example, the author of this post has astigmatism and uses corrective lenses. The author of this post also experiences what is called a “halation effect,” where white letters appear to bleed into the background at times. (Bureau of Internet Accessibility, 2021). That’s in addition to other issues that can persist, such as “double vision”, where the focus is often blurred due to a slight shadowing effect (Eubanks, 2022).
Depending on the individual and the situation, Dark mode features can be anywhere from helpful to annoying; it is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Below is an example of how dark mode may look for someone who does not experience astigmatism, compared to a simulated example of how it may look for someone who does experience a form of astigmatism. Individual results may vary.
Further, developers of websites, apps, and more should ideally validate colors in various tests for user experience scenarios. Simply inverting color schemes in the settings doesn’t guarantee best results for your situation (Bureau of Internet Accessibility, 2021). Check out the links and sources at the bottom of this post for more information on these topics.?
With all of this said, you are not limited to just Light and Dark mode in Revit. There is a third option where we can override the colors to be anything we want, which is ultimately a great feature that goes outside of any theme.
For example, you could try a slightly yellow background as well as several other dark-on-light combinations. This could take some experimenting over time. In one personal experience, this ever so slight off white/yellow background did appear to provide a pleasant experience without an overpowering white/black contrast. For those wondering, this is a background with a color of RGB 255-255-230.
You could also change other settings within File>Options>Graphics in Revit. Below is where we changed the temporary dimension text to be size 12 as well as Opaque instead of the default text size 8 and Transparent. As a result, it’s not a faint blue against any color background. Instead, it shows the blue text against the opaque background color we selected in File>Options>Colors.?
Beyond adjusting Revit settings, there are other things you can do to improve your workflow. The Mayo Foundation recommends the 20-20-20 rule: take a break by looking at something 20 feet away for at least 20 seconds in 20-minute intervals. Further, you can adjust your entire work environment to make it more comfortable for you. (Mayo Foundation, 2022).
In conclusion, this has been another edition of NEWS YOU CAN USE, where we cover another situation where you do not have to accept the default options to elevate your workflow. Please check out our other newsletter editions for additional topics. ?
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Source Cited
Blog - Digital Accessibility. (2021, July 7). Dark mode can improve text readability - but not for everyone. WCAG Audits, ADA Accessibility Audits & Section 508 Audits. Retrieved April 19, 2023, from https://www.boia.org/blog/dark-mode-can-improve-text-readability-but-not-for-everyone
Eubanks, B. (2022, January 11). Will astigmatism cause double vision? EyeMountain. Retrieved April 19, 2023, from https://eyemountain.com/will-astigmatism-cause-double-vision/
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2022, September 15). Eyestrain. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved April 19, 2023, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/eyestrain/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20372403
Swain, E. (2022, September 6). What does Blue Light Do to Your Eyes? Vision Center. Retrieved April 19, 2023, from https://www.visioncenter.org/blog/blue-light-effects-eyes/
Swain, E. (2022, September 6). What is dark mode? is it better for your eyes? Vision Center. Retrieved April 19, 2023, from https://www.visioncenter.org/blog/dark-mode-eye-health/?