[Sandwich]

I've run into a strange phenomenon on the boards, and I'm wondering if it's just that I need a new perscription or what.

I've noticed this ever since Kellan was assigned that Spiderman title. As you may or may not have noticed, it's in alternating red and blue letters, like this:

Spiderman

Now, you'll notice that the different-colored letters are at different heights on your monitor (unless you have an LCD (laptop) display). This is because of the RGB pixel arrangement in any given monitor. But this is not my point.

What I wanted to bring up was that when I'm reading white text on black, as is the case here at HLP, everything's fine. When I read red text on black, everything's fine. But when I try to look at blue text on black, I find that my eyes need to readjust their focus - the blue is not at the same "focal depth", if you will, as the rest of the text. It only occurs on a black (or dark) background.

Does this focus "problem" happen to anyone else?

[Kellan]

Stryke mentioned a while ago that he couldn't see the blue very well, and it made it look like an admin with poor spelling was having some kind of joke.

But yeah, I see what you mean. Maybe we're getting old...

[Redfang]

I haven't noticed anything strange...
 
Now that I look at it, I see that the letters are at different places, some are close to another...
 
You can have LCD displays in desktop computers, too.
 
Edit: Hmm, actually, looking from further away makes blue harder to read, as it's darker. Not all blue colors are dark, though, and this one is easy to read.
 
Edit2: Test: Blahblahblah. That's amber. Hmm...

[Styxx]

Well, sandwich, you got pretty close there. It might sound stupid, but we have a course on user interfaces on college that focus on this kind of apparently small things that might be a hinderance for people when using a computer.

You're not actually adjusting the focus (well, not in the literal sense), you're readjusting the contrast sensitivity of your eyes to compensate for the poor contrast that exists between blue and black. The same occurs for an uncountable combination of colors, as you might have noticed on other websites. For some combinations, your brain has difficulty selecting which color is the background and which one contains the information - blue and red, most notoriously.

The best combinations for reading on an active display (such as a computer monitor) are black and amber - specially black background and amber text.

[Sandwich]

Originally posted by Redfang
You can have LCD displays in normal computers, too.

...Which is why I put "laptop" in parentheses.

Originally posted by Styxx
Well, sandwich, you got pretty close there. It might sound stupid, but we have a course on user interfaces on college that focus on this kind of apparently small things that might be a hinderance for people when using a computer.

You're not actually adjusting the focus (well, not in the literal sense), you're readjusting the contrast sensitivity of your eyes to compensate for the poor contrast that exists between blue and black. The same occurs for an uncountable combination of colors, as you might have noticed on other websites. For some combinations, your brain has difficulty selecting which color is the background and which one contains the information - blue and red, most notoriously.

The best combinations for reading on an active display (such as a computer monitor) are black and amber - specially black background and amber text.

Ugh, blue and red... Like all those ametuer websites from the early 90's with bold red text on a pure blue BG - makes me wanna puke over the website designer. (Where's that *puke* smiley I asked for?!?!? )

Amber, eh? I noticed years and years ago, while looking at two intertwined wires, one yellow and the other black, that those colors made a pretty good looking combo. Amber, however... what's the hex for Amber?

[Redfang]

Check my edit...
 
But anyway, I prefer white on black over amber on black.
 
Edit: Seems that dark blue is harder to read than dark green. But that might be because it's darker... :doh:
 
Edit2: Can't read that dark blue from further away from the monitor... with normal white no problem, though...

[an0n]

Mmmmmmmm. Funny colour

[an0n]

Originally posted by Redfang
Edit: Seems that dark blue is harder to read than dark green. But that might be because it's darker...

Not if you're red-green colour blind.

*smack*

[Odyssey]

Originally posted by sandwich
Amber, however... what's the hex for Amber?

#FFCC33 - I think, is the closest 'web colour'

[Styxx]

Originally posted by Odyssey
#FFCC33 - I think, is the closest 'web colour'

Yep, that's about it.

(try to remember those damn old monochrome monitors... )

[phreak]

i always see "s i e m n" when looking at kellan's title

[Styxx]

Originally posted by PhReAk
i always see "s i e m n" when looking at kellan's title

Lol! Yeah, bad contrast sucks.

[vyper]

Originally posted by PhReAk
i always see "s i e m n" when looking at kellan's title

Clean your monitor then.

[CP5670]

My contrast is at the lowest setting and the brightness is a couple notches above the lowest, but I can see the Spiderman thing fine. However, on closer inspection of the letters, the reds do certainly appear to be "floating" above the blues.

[Gortef]

Originally posted by PhReAk
i always see "s i e m n" when looking at kellan's title

Edit: I do have the same "problem". I believe the reason is simple (as many people have proved it alltready) blue (especially the blue used on Kellans title) is a dark colour and that's why it's barely visible on black background. I never saw "s i e m n"  though... I just saw blue colour between the red letters and made some conclusions

[Sandwich]

Originally posted by Gortef
{image removed for great justice!!}

Oh my gosh!!! I think I just woke my parents up I laughed so hard!!!!!!!!!!!!!



*Sandwich thinks PhReAk has been royally 0wn3d! *

EDIT: Image, uhm... removed by request.

[Stryke 9]

(note: from this point onwards, all other emoticons in my posts will be replaced with , because rules)

Yeah, it's just the way we see things. Blue is darkest, green is brighter, yellow seems to be brightest, and red goes back to being darker. I think it has to do with how far from the center it is on the visible range...

[phreak]

Originally posted by sandwich
*Sandwich thinks PhReAk has been royally 0wn3d! *

thats over my head

hmm.. *thinking*... ow

siemn = simian?

[Gortef]

Originally posted by sandwich


Oh my gosh!!! I think I just woke my parents up I laughed so hard!!!!!!!!!!!!!

that pic is great... I also laughed my ass off the first time I saw it

[Stryke 9]

...


...Dubya?