

Ask HN: why do Twitter and Youtube use mottled/noisy background images? - dbbolton

I recently noticed a trend of websites using slightly mottled patterns for their backgrounds. Off the top of my head, Twitter's menubar comes to mind, as well as Youtube's whole background. I just noticed that Firefox has used a similar pattern on its "speed dial" startup page in version 13. To make sure my eyes weren't playing tricks on me, I opened up the image files in the GIMP,  zoomed in, and used a color picker. Sure enough, there is a somewhat random color variation throughout the patterns.<p>So the question is, why not use smooth backgrounds and gradients? Is there some sort of aesthetic advantage to the noise?<p>My dad, who worked in the automotive business, told me that the reason car manufactures put tiny swatches of many different colors on the upholstery of the seats is that it has the unexpected effect of being able to match many different exterior colors. So, I'm wondering if there is a similar principle at play here.
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aquarin
I believe that in this way backgrounds look more like natural surface, where
color is not constant but have some variation.

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creamyhorror
I wonder the same thing (I didn't even notice the Firefox background). When
Youtube changed its background to mottled it was a bit surprising. Does the
texture give a better experience?

Interesting point about upholstery colouring, though I doubt it's the case for
these web textures. They're really too subtle to have a strong impact on
overall colour balance and matching (IMO).

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malandrew
The real world has texture and is most familiar and comfortable. The perfectly
smooth shapes and surfaces created by not defining any texture are unnatural
and elicit psychological uneasiness (cognitive dissonance) in the viewer..

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kayasuma
overall, textures are much in use on the web nowadays. For once, because it
gives more visual information to the website, it makes it richer visually. On
the other hand, on the youtube case at least, it makes it easier on the eyes.
I believe that if you use a bit of texture, it won't be such a strong colored
element and will make the rest of the content blend better on top of the
background.

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mrose
The grainy backgrounds are a subtle visual cue, aiding the user in focusing on
your foreground elements (just like in real life when your eyes focus on
something, the background is blurred). In my experience, this is particularly
helpful in increasing engagement with media elements.

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msisto
Added depth.

