FastCoDesign: Why tech’s favorite color is making us all miserable

Amber Case:

A decade after my experience with the LED fans, I started seeing blue displays everywhere. From mobile phones to in-car displays, blue lights were becoming the norm. It’s hard for me to think of any examples of prominent high-tech products on the market now without pale blue screens or indicator lights. LED-based bulbs with more blue light are fast replacing incandescent bulbs. The default display to our iPhones and Androids operates along the blue spectrum, as do our laptops; new cars, especially those like Tesla which aspire to be “futuristic,” come with blue-lit dashboard displays, and so do our “smart” appliances, televisions, video game consoles, watches–the list goes on.

Unless it’s the post-apocalypse, imagery of the future is generally always depicted by some form of light. This article provides a brief history and effect of shifting from red and orange light (function) to blue light (form) on screen and in real-life.

I was obsessed with the blue eject light on the original PS2. When powered on at night, married to the start up chime, the blue light was a beautiful touch to round out the futuristic design and marketing of the console. The Wii’s disc drive bay gave me a similar feeling.

The poet in me would say it’s vast and mysterious sea, sky, and stars that make blue so extraordinary. While I agree that red and orange are preferred from practical standpoint, there’s no denying that blue is gorgeous. The Zero Counts design is certainly guilty of leaning on blue — ZC blue (#004992).

Regardless of your feelings about the film, try imagining Tron: Legacy with an orange Grid. Gross.

(Link via The Loop)