In recent years, the use of dark mode and light mode color themes in digital interface designs has increased immensely, influencing usability, visual comfort and the user experience.

This study aims to investigate dark mode and light mode in digital interfaces and their effects on subjective readability and cognitive load. A mixed methods approach was used throughout this study, combining a within-subject experiment with a questionnaire consisting of Likert-scale questions together with open-ended questions. A total of 22 participants were involved and tested both prototypes followed by the questionnaire.

The results gathered through the experiments showed minor differences between the two prototypes in terms of subjective readability and cognitive load. Both the quantitative and qualitative results displayed similar ratings of subjective readability and cognitive load across each of the two interfaces. Overall the results indicate that both light mode and dark mode can be effective when the interface design is well developed, however users' individual preferences may influence the perceived experience.

The findings in this study provide information to future researchers and designers in the field of user interface design.