The natural state of paper is white (or light) so naturally the highest contrast ink is black. Reinforced by the fact that the easiest ink to make is black (as opposed to the opposite, which is white, or a random color like red or blue). Because ink is a manifestation of color, or pigment. Blend all the colors together and you get black, because pigment is subtractive.
The natural state of a computer screen is black, so naturally the highest contrast pixels will output white. Because pixels outout light. When they're off, no light means darkness (black). Blend all the colors together and you get white, because light is additive. (Interesting link explaining the difference.)
On a piece of paper, anything not white is supposed to be there to be processed by your brain and interpreted as either information (meaning) to be communicated, or aesthetics to convey branding, style, and other feeling/ perception. On a digital screen, anything not black should fit the same description. Screens are the opposite of paper for the fundamental reason (physics) described above. Too much software these days is made either ignoring this principle or pandering to customers who think it's too complicated.
Devices that are all screen, like TVs, tablets, and smartphones, should be built with all black bodies. I don't mean some cheap looking dull grayish blackish frame, I mean dark black that harmonizes well with the screen when it's off. This is because the device is nothing more than a carrier. The device, the hardware, is meant to be a comfortable pleasing input. The screen (the software) is the only output, therefore the only thing that should be specifically designed to attract attention. Like the old saying that a child should be seen and not heard (meaning they should be present in the company of adults but well behaved so as to not interrupt the peaceful conversation of the adults). A well manored child will receive high praise for successfully doing what they're supposed to, even without them doing their best to attract attention. Similarly, the hardware of a device that is all screen should get its praise by quietly doing what is needed without demanding its own attention. If the designer does their job well, the unassuming black device will earn plenty of praise.
For tablets and phones, the most impressive user experience will be when the device feels like it's just all one piece of material. Since the best screens are glass, it makes sense that the whole thing be glass. If that's not sturdy enough then just the front and back should be glass. The iPhone 4 and Galaxy S7, S8, and Tab S3 fit these descriptions. May they not be the last.
Once the device is designed to blend in with the screen when it's off, we may ask how to make the screen blend with the device when its on. The way to do this is with dark themed apps that exploit the properties of light and ignore the concepts of pigment. The user should always have choice to customize to their personal style, but to demonstrate design excellence the device should come standard with backgrounds that help fool the user into thinking the device is all one solid, strong piece of material. Apple made some cool backgrounds with their iPhone 7 (including the blue blob). May these inspire many more.
The reason not just any black background will do is we must show of the awesomeness of the display (the screen). This isn't the 1980s and we're not running 640x480 with 50 pixels per inch and using dot matrix printers. It's almost 2020 and a good display these days rivals the quality of a laser printer. Laser printers output at 600 dots per inch and a good phone has at least 200. (Microsoft Windows still assumes all desktop monitors are running at 72 pixels per inch.) The iPhone 7+ has 400 and the Galaxy S7 has 575 pixels per inch. The stock wallpapers (including live wallpapers) should show this off in all its glory with ultra high resolution and high detail photography that harmonizes with the physical device beautifully. The Apple fighting fish, blue blob, and purple flower (from the iPhone 6) are great examples. OK world, let's see some more :)
Image credit: Apple
For example, Motorola, maker of the flip phone that rocked the the world (the Razr) and the insanely thin Moto Z Droid (a whopping 26% thinner than the iPhone 6 but the same 5.5" screen size), how awesome of a device could you make if you took these design principles just a little more seriously? Good luck to us all.
Image credit: Adobe
The natural state of a computer screen is black, so naturally the highest contrast pixels will output white. Because pixels outout light. When they're off, no light means darkness (black). Blend all the colors together and you get white, because light is additive. (Interesting link explaining the difference.)
Image credit: Adobe
On a piece of paper, anything not white is supposed to be there to be processed by your brain and interpreted as either information (meaning) to be communicated, or aesthetics to convey branding, style, and other feeling/ perception. On a digital screen, anything not black should fit the same description. Screens are the opposite of paper for the fundamental reason (physics) described above. Too much software these days is made either ignoring this principle or pandering to customers who think it's too complicated.
Devices that are all screen, like TVs, tablets, and smartphones, should be built with all black bodies. I don't mean some cheap looking dull grayish blackish frame, I mean dark black that harmonizes well with the screen when it's off. This is because the device is nothing more than a carrier. The device, the hardware, is meant to be a comfortable pleasing input. The screen (the software) is the only output, therefore the only thing that should be specifically designed to attract attention. Like the old saying that a child should be seen and not heard (meaning they should be present in the company of adults but well behaved so as to not interrupt the peaceful conversation of the adults). A well manored child will receive high praise for successfully doing what they're supposed to, even without them doing their best to attract attention. Similarly, the hardware of a device that is all screen should get its praise by quietly doing what is needed without demanding its own attention. If the designer does their job well, the unassuming black device will earn plenty of praise.
For tablets and phones, the most impressive user experience will be when the device feels like it's just all one piece of material. Since the best screens are glass, it makes sense that the whole thing be glass. If that's not sturdy enough then just the front and back should be glass. The iPhone 4 and Galaxy S7, S8, and Tab S3 fit these descriptions. May they not be the last.
Images credit: Apple
Left: model 4, right: model 7
Left: model 4, right: model 7
Once the device is designed to blend in with the screen when it's off, we may ask how to make the screen blend with the device when its on. The way to do this is with dark themed apps that exploit the properties of light and ignore the concepts of pigment. The user should always have choice to customize to their personal style, but to demonstrate design excellence the device should come standard with backgrounds that help fool the user into thinking the device is all one solid, strong piece of material. Apple made some cool backgrounds with their iPhone 7 (including the blue blob). May these inspire many more.
Images credit: Apple
The reason not just any black background will do is we must show of the awesomeness of the display (the screen). This isn't the 1980s and we're not running 640x480 with 50 pixels per inch and using dot matrix printers. It's almost 2020 and a good display these days rivals the quality of a laser printer. Laser printers output at 600 dots per inch and a good phone has at least 200. (Microsoft Windows still assumes all desktop monitors are running at 72 pixels per inch.) The iPhone 7+ has 400 and the Galaxy S7 has 575 pixels per inch. The stock wallpapers (including live wallpapers) should show this off in all its glory with ultra high resolution and high detail photography that harmonizes with the physical device beautifully. The Apple fighting fish, blue blob, and purple flower (from the iPhone 6) are great examples. OK world, let's see some more :)
For example, Motorola, maker of the flip phone that rocked the the world (the Razr) and the insanely thin Moto Z Droid (a whopping 26% thinner than the iPhone 6 but the same 5.5" screen size), how awesome of a device could you make if you took these design principles just a little more seriously? Good luck to us all.