I’m experimenting with neumorphism in a UI, but I’m worried about how it affects people with low vision. Are there any practical UX guidelines for making neumorphic elements more accessible?
New contributor
Naushina Umar is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering. Check out our Code of Conduct.
Add a comment |
1 Answer
Neumorphism isn't designed to be visually accessible to all types of users, no matter how many new, updated, or modified guidelines are proposed.
But...
There are several options to try to solve the problem. It's as simple as finding the necessary contrast. One exercise is to look for the opposite of neumorphism = neobrutalism.
| Neumorphism | Neobrutalism |
|---|---|
| Soft dual shadows; subtle emboss/deboss effects; elements blend into the background | Little to no depth; hard, flat shadows; elements appear boldly separate |
| Pastel tones, light grays, low saturation; very soft and uniform | Highly saturated colors; strong contrasts; bold and vibrant combinations |
| Rounded corners, soft curves, almost borderless look | Thick, visible borders (often dark); sharp or blocky shapes |
| Very subtle visual hierarchy; low contrast can make elements hard to distinguish | Strong, clear hierarchy thanks to high contrast and bold framing |
| Smooth, clean, airy, minimal | Raw, direct, intentionally “unpolished” |
| Calm, elegant, tactile | Loud, energetic, rebellious against traditional UI norms |
From here, there are two options:
Try to find a middle ground between both styles (too much work in my opinion)
Place a toggle button between one style and the other for users with visual impairments (my choice)
Neumorphism
Neobrutalism
(AI generated from the previous image)
