Why Pro Tools' Default UI Needs a Dark Mode Makeover

Ever feel like you're staring into a digital abyss after a long Pro Tools session?

Yeah, me too.

Those bright white interfaces might look sleek in a showroom, but for late-night editing marathons, they can be a recipe for eye strain and fatigue.

Here's the thing: dark mode isn't just a trendy aesthetic choice. It's a night and day (pun intended) difference for your working comfort, especially during extended periods.

Studies show dark interfaces reduce eye strain by minimizing the amount of light emitted from the screen.

Think of it like switching from those harsh overhead fluorescent lights to a calming desk lamp – a much smoother experience for your eyes.

But hold on a second, Pro Tools already has a dark mode, right? Not quite.

While the "dark" option offers a reprieve from the blinding white, it's more of a charcoal grey than a true black.

This means there's still a significant amount of light being thrown at your retinas, defeating the purpose of dark mode in the first place.

This is where customization comes in. Let's delve into some settings that can transform your Pro Tools experience from eye-watering to eye-pleasing.

You can access the UI Theme by opening the color pallete window and open the UI customization drop down. As a starting point, you can click the UI Theme "Dark" and we'll tweak from there.

Here's the General tweaks:

The Tracks tweaks:

The Clips tweaks:

Grids are unchanged. The Marker Lines view (I personally like red, but choose whatever color you want!)

Automation View tweaks:

As always, tweak again to your personal comfort. I find these settings allow me to easily visually obtain all information, while also having saturated colors pop to differentiate tracks, but also having a clear automation view. 

What color scheme you rocking in Pro Tools?