As clear as black

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I’ve applied a new design to Petrona, partly because I find these Typepad white backgrounds hard to read and partly in response to this comment from Shameless.

Please let me know what you think — is this more legible? Are the links clearer?

If you are a ‘basic’ Typepad user like me, the design options for your blog are limited, unless you pay them more money each month. My current design options are more limited than the free service offered by Google’s Blogger Beta, which is ironic as I moved over here from Google in the first place to be able to "tag". Now you can do more on Google than you can on Typepad where you have to pay.

Oh well, I’m assured by a lovely Typepad expert I happen to know that Typepad will upgrade fairly soon. Hope so.

17 thoughts on “As clear as black”

  1. I’m using this template for my personal blog and I have to say I’m not entirely convinced by it. I always find reading white type on a black background difficult, but that’s just a personal thing.

  2. I’d have to agree with Kim (again!). Reading white/gray type on black isn’t very easy. However, those hot pink links in the entry above really do stand out.

  3. And I like it a lot. I never much cared for all the purplish prose – whoops, I meant purplish tones. And I find white-on-black, while surprising at first, gets easier to read the more I do it. And this is a nice clean template. In fact, I wouldn’t mind transferring it to my blog, if I could.

  4. Even though my blog also has white type against a black background I must admit I do find it hard to read. I suppose it takes the eye a bit of time to get used to it.

  6. This is working OK for me. I’d be careful with the colours on links and for higlighting text, though. I often find multicolours on black or other dark backgrounds very hard to read!

  8. I find it hard to read white on black. What would look nice is this template as it currently is, but with a light gray in the background of the main column.

  9. I also find white on black harder to read. Does Typepad allow some other color than light purple against a white background?

  10. Wow — this is, like, dramatically different! I’m in a sort of altered state (thanks to an emergency visit to the dentist earlier this evening), but this looks scarily black and white and, Maxine, you are anything but black and white.
    I think I’m with Debra Hamel. A bit of a change, but not such a dramatic one. This format is sort of the antithesis of the “sweet little cup,” if you know what I mean….

  12. Don’t want to be rude, Maxine, but it’s very difficult to read. I have problems with the black-background blogs. I have another problem…maybe mine are the oldest pair of eyes, but I find the font size a little too small for comfort.

  13. Thanks for your comments, everyone. I’ll see if I can find a compromise design that isn’t brown or orange (colours favoured by typepad but not my favourites).
    Quite agree on the font size, Susan — again, the small font is the default but you can increase it manually. Sometimes I remember but more often I forget. The html code is also not great as if you are in large typesize chunks of text switch back and you don’t seem to be able to over-ride that.
    Will keep playing. Maybe I’ll have to upgrade to “pro” (then you can choose your own colours — but you also need to be a bit more confident than I currently am with the html.)

  14. Have you changed this since these comments, Maxine? Like Steve Clarkson I am seeing this as black print on a white background and IMHO a big impreovement on what you had before. I wonder if it’s because I use Firefox.

  15. This latest is excellent! Very clear. The larger type is a joy – even larger than necessary and eminently superior to my eyes!

  16. Oh good, Susan, I am so glad you like it. And yes, Clare, I could not leave the black there with everyone hating it, did not want to drive you all away, I am too fond of you.

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