How do I convince my boss that grey font is legible?

Question

One of the big bosses at my company is up in arms about "grey font" right now. Even using the dark grey from our style guide for text ends in a lecture.

I know that contrast is critical and I have always valued function over form, but I see cases across the web where grey fonts have been used. Personally, I believe that pure black font is too much contrast and can be kind of jarring to look at on a web page.

The examples I have below come from Google and Apple, both of whom are renowned for leading the way (more or less) in web design. Both of these sites use almost entirely grey font.

I tried to use this as a way of saying that dark greys are fine to use, but my boss swears that it's a bad trend that people will look back on in 10 years and say "man they were stupid in the 20 teens".

I pulled the following info off of a government website.

From Section 508:

• A contrast ratio of 3:1 for text with a size of 18 points (14 points if bolded) or larger, or
• A contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for text with a size less than 18 points (or less than 14 points if bolded)

I checked the contrast ratios on one of Google's web pages and apple.com using this tool.

Here's Google

Here's Apple

I also found this on another website that shows the point at which the grey becomes too little contrast.

How can I convince my boss that as long as we pass the contrast test, grey font is fine to use?

And is it okay for Apple to have text on their site that fails every section of the contrast test, or is it bad design/a bad trend?

Answer 1

Legal departments/requirements are often not logical from a design perspective. Many times I must do something that is aesthetically unfounded, merely because a legal department wants to "be sure" there "absolutely no possible way" anyone could interpret something as misrepresented or hidden.

Honestly... in spite of any logical arguments... I'd do what the boss is requesting. While from a design/contrast technical point of view you may be correct. Your boss may have more important reasons for requesting black text.

Huge corporations like Google and Apple can afford any legal hassle. To them, it's not a big deal to combat claims they aren't showing disclaimers clearly. Smaller companies may not be in that position. In fact, one such claim may easily bankrupt a smaller company. In many circumstances where legal text is at issue.. "design" is not the primary concern, and often the least valued aspect.

In short: your boss is right. Not just because he/she is your boss, but because what works for Google and Apple is not what works for many other companies.

In addition, target audience may be a great concern. Apple and Google target the ~20 year old range... I know it may be hard to believe, but eyesight is much better at 20 than it is at 40, even if there's never been a need for glasses before. The older the audience the less the muscles in the eye are able to focus clearly. So, there are factors such as demographic age which can be a huge reason lower contrast text may not be a good idea. In short, form vs function... without function, the form is inconsequential. It may look nice, but if it is imperative to read, and can't be read... well...

Answer 2

I'm 60 years old. My friends and I are sick and tired of not being able to read the gray font. We need high contrast or it's a strain. We're artists so we get aesthetics but design isn't cute if we can't read it. Ask your readers.

Answer 3

You can't, legibility is subjective. And you shouldn't try, this is not a matter of opinon, but of personal experience. You easily can read it, he/she doesn't. End of the story.

On the other hand, I should think that what matters is what the intended readers of the pages feel. If it is possible the right procedure would be to ask them: make a test run and see.

In any case your boss is right. Other than in extreme situations, legibility is way more important that aesthetics. Better safe than sorry.

We do not know Apple's goals for their design. If it full fit them, then it is right.

Answer 4

Read Low-Contrast Text Is Not the Answer by Katie Sherwin, whose summary is:

Low-contrast text may be trendy, but it is also illegible, undiscoverable, and inaccessible. Instead, consider more usable alternatives.

Answer 5

If you want to convince your boss, I would run the test with your actual clients. You don't know how the test determines what is enough contrast and your boss is likely worried about usability.

Without regards to how you should deal with this in your workplace, strictly in terms of design, I think you need to have a middle ground.

There has been criticism of Apple's use of color in type, and not just by random folks, but Don Norman, the famous author of "The Design of Everyday Things" wrote about this in FastCo.

However, going all the way black is harsh on the eyes. There are sources online discussing this, like this one. Also, Jan Tschichold's Die Neue Typographie (a classic work about book design) advocates, if my memory doesn't fail me, to use 80% black on a more cream paper to lower the contrast and make reading more comfortable. In any case, it would be preferable to use a spot color to avoid halftone in your typography so that maye not always be possible. Especially in print (CMYK), black is sometimes the better way to go if you don't want to create a halftone color or registration problems.

Again, it also depends if you are dealing with a long text or just titles. You don't need to worry so much about making text comfortable to read if you're only applying color to titles.

Answer 6

Your boss is right. Maximum contrast is best for reading. If you think it is hurting your eyes, think brightness, not contrasts. There is no scientific evidence that anything less than maximum contrast is a good thing. If you read otherwise then what you are reading is false.