Forum Discussion
Dark Mode?
Hello,
I was wondering if there were any plans of adding a Dark Mode in SCORM. Dark Mode is becoming more and more popular since it's such a great relief of the eye strain from white, bright backgrounds. Since our SCORM are long courses, we believe our students would greatly benefit from this mode.
Thank you
30 Replies
Hi there,
That's an interesting idea. Would you be up for logging a feature request to tell us more about your specific needs?
In the meantime, if there’s anything else I can do to help, please let me know!
Thank you for engaging with the community on this, but respectfully, this isn't just a minor preference or a "nice-to-have" feature—a native Dark Mode for Storyline 360 is a fundamental accessibility and usability requirement for professional e-learning developers.
1. Reduce Eye Strain & Prevent Cognitive Fatigue
The vast majority of developers using Storyline are working in front of screens for 10 to 12 hours a day. Staring at a high-contrast, bright white canvas framed by an equally bright white, unyielding UI for hours on end causes severe eye fatigue, chronic headaches, and physical strain.
When every other core tool in a modern developer's tech stack—from the Adobe Creative Cloud suite to Microsoft 365, browser dev tools, and audio/video editing software—supports system-level dark themes, switching into Storyline’s glaring white interface is like stepping into a room with harsh fluorescent lights on full blast. It isn't just "jarring"; it is physically uncomfortable and directly impacts how long we can sustain focus without suffering digital eye strain.
2. Biggest Workflow Impact: Contrast Distortion & Color Accuracy
The current bright UI has a massive negative impact when designing custom UI components, high-contrast layouts, or darker, immersive slide themes:
- Perceptual Color Distortion: Designing dark-themed slides, custom video interfaces, or low-light scenarios inside a blinding white authoring tool distorts visual perception. White surroundings trick the eye, making slide colors, contrast ratios, and subtle gradients appear drastically different than they actually are.
- Seamless Context Switching: Many of us work across dual or triple monitor setups, constantly moving assets between Photoshop/Illustrator (in dark mode) and Storyline. Flash-banging our eyes every time we drag an asset into Storyline causes constant visual readjustment, disrupting focus and breaking flow state.
3. What Difference Would Dark Mode Make?
For individual developers and enterprise teams alike, a dark mode interface translates to:
- Sustained Productivity & Health: Decreased physical fatigue means longer periods of deep focus and better well-being during intense project crunch times.
- Modern Industry Standard: Storyline is the flagship tool in the instructional design industry. The lack of a dark UI makes the software feel visually dated compared to every other major professional design tool on the market today.
- Accessibility Compliance for Authors: Accessibility isn't just for end-users viewing published courses; it applies to the content creators building them. Light sensitivity, photophobia, and migraines are real conditions, and an all-white UI actively creates a barrier for developers with visual sensitivity.
The community feedback across this forum is overwhelming and consistent: we need a Dark Mode theme option for the Storyline authoring interface.
We love the power of Storyline, but we desperately need an interface that prioritizes the health, comfort, and daily working reality of the professionals who rely on it for hours every single day. We strongly urge the product team to move this from a discussion topic into active development.
Is there a Dark Mode option now?
Hi Partha,
There's not a Dark Mode option in Rise 360, but thanks for letting us know you're interested in that feature!
When you work in Rise, you can use dark mode browser add-ons. I use Dark Reader, a Chrome browser add on.
Thank you for engaging with the community on this, but respectfully, this isn't just a minor preference or a "nice-to-have" feature—a native Dark Mode for Storyline 360 is a fundamental accessibility and usability requirement for professional e-learning developers.
1. Reduce Eye Strain & Prevent Cognitive Fatigue
The vast majority of developers using Storyline are working in front of screens for 10 to 12 hours a day. Staring at a high-contrast, bright white canvas framed by an equally bright white, unyielding UI for hours on end causes severe eye fatigue, chronic headaches, and physical strain.
When every other core tool in a modern developer's tech stack—from the Adobe Creative Cloud suite to Microsoft 365, browser dev tools, and audio/video editing software—supports system-level dark themes, switching into Storyline’s glaring white interface is like stepping into a room with harsh fluorescent lights on full blast. It isn't just "jarring"; it is physically uncomfortable and directly impacts how long we can sustain focus without suffering digital eye strain.
2. Biggest Workflow Impact: Contrast Distortion & Color Accuracy
The current bright UI has a massive negative impact when designing custom UI components, high-contrast layouts, or darker, immersive slide themes:
- Perceptual Color Distortion: Designing dark-themed slides, custom video interfaces, or low-light scenarios inside a blinding white authoring tool distorts visual perception. White surroundings trick the eye, making slide colors, contrast ratios, and subtle gradients appear drastically different than they actually are.
- Seamless Context Switching: Many of us work across dual or triple monitor setups, constantly moving assets between Photoshop/Illustrator (in dark mode) and Storyline. Flash-banging our eyes every time we drag an asset into Storyline causes constant visual readjustment, disrupting focus and breaking flow state.
3. What Difference Would Dark Mode Make?
For individual developers and enterprise teams alike, a dark mode interface translates to:
- Sustained Productivity & Health: Decreased physical fatigue means longer periods of deep focus and better well-being during intense project crunch times.
- Modern Industry Standard: Storyline is the flagship tool in the instructional design industry. The lack of a dark UI makes the software feel visually dated compared to every other major professional design tool on the market today.
- Accessibility Compliance for Authors: Accessibility isn't just for end-users viewing published courses; it applies to the content creators building them. Light sensitivity, photophobia, and migraines are real conditions, and an all-white UI actively creates a barrier for developers with visual sensitivity.
The community feedback across this forum is overwhelming and consistent: we need a Dark Mode theme option for the Storyline authoring interface.
We love the power of Storyline, but we desperately need an interface that prioritizes the health, comfort, and daily working reality of the professionals who rely on it for hours every single day. We strongly urge the product team to move this from a discussion topic into active development.
I too am interested in Dark Mode.
Is there a dark mode option in Storyline i.e. for the developer's benefit?
Hi, Kyle. Currently, Storyline doesn't offer dark mode for authors.
I am aware. I think it would be a very good offering., Doesn't seem like it is a tremendous amount of work. And it helps developers who have frequent headaches.
+1 to this request - for development and publishing.
Dark Mode for Rise would also be fantastic - we've seen multiple learners request that in course comments, especially with having many other apps have this feature (Slack, etc.)Agreed the need for a Dark Mode option for Learners should be added to Rise.
Oh I want it for developers mainly. Though the option for learners should be included.
Kyle Mullaney | 孟柏凱
Communication and Training Specialist
The Office of Sponsored Research | UNC
Agree for a dark mode in Rise as a priority and in Story line too !
Thanks Claudine, Dark Reader is great!
I'd also love a dark-mode option for Rise! Is there a timeline for when this can be expected? I see the initial request was posted 3 years ago.
