As you can probably tell from this website (at least in it’s current state), I am a big fan of websites with a dark colour palette. That’s what this post is all about (if you thought it was about dark as in evil, sorry about that). Working through some of my favorite CSS and Website galleries, I have compiled this collection of 25 awesome website designs, which all incorporate darker colours to some degree.
Of course, all of the sites are very different from each other, but there are a few elements that you will find repeated in many of them. First, many of the sites incorporate interesting and unique lighting effects, in a wide variety of colours. These range from evanescent swirls, to broad glows, to actual lamps shinning beams of light. I think that the darker background of these sites really lend themselves to these kinds of lighting effects, which would be either lost or much less effective on lighter backdrops.
You may also notice that many of these sites make use of texture, and in many cases, grungy texture. Again, this is probably due to the dark colours, which really lend themselves well to being textured. It adds a lot of visual interest to the design. In some cases you will also see texture combined with light, to great effect!
Anyhow, I really hope you enjoy these, and that they get your creative juices flowing!
Cleo Annex Salon
XP Codec Pack
Sub Assembly Services
Arun Pattnaik Portfolio & Blog
Miloš Zeković
Robin James Yu
Kaiser Interactive Creative Studio
Two 24 Studios
JWD Designs
Duplo Motion Graphics
Spiced Jack No 94
Matt Brett
Twenty3Design
OKB Estudio Interactivo
Sugar Rhyme
Design Newz
GreenLite
Dsignz Media
Artist & Designer Jeff Finley
GoMedia
Visual Carnival
Mike Precious
new(me)dia
Ignite New Media
61 Pixels - Online Porfolio of Todd Adams
So there you have them – all 25 designs. You’ll notice that I refrained from adding my own site to this list, even though it’s dark and uses a similar lighting effect to some of these sites. I figure you’re already here right? Also, many of these sites belong to creative agencies and freelancers, which means that some of them could change at any moment (since many designers love to mix it up). All these these designs are current as of the date of posting, though!
Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed these! Which are your favorites? Are you as drawn to dark designs as I am? If so, what do you think the allure is? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!
Fantastic collection Matt! Thanks for the inspiration …
Nice collection, Thx
Thanks for the kudos Mr. Matt!
We don’t see too many dark website designs – people tend to think of them as dreary or scary. Of course, a dark design can have a dramatic and powerful impact when executed correctly.
- Jeff @ GreenLite Web
(Side note: just noticed that you’re reading The Innocent Mage, which I really liked. Hope you enjoy it!)
Hah. I thought these were going to be “dark” as in “evil” at first, but these are awesome. Great collection. Thanks for sharing.
These are cool. I wish mine could be the 26th one!
I found your blog on Google. I’ve bookmarked it and will watch out for your next blog post.
I love a good dark website and perhaps like them over lighter sites in general if they are done nicely.
compelling article. Have a wonderful week!