Themes & Palettes

Current offers five carefully crafted color palettes, each with light and dark variants designed for extended reading sessions.

Design Philosophy

Color in Current follows the principle of "color as punctuation." The palettes are intentionally calm and non-distracting. Backgrounds recede, text is easy on the eyes, and accent colors are used sparingly for meaningful emphasis.

Each palette includes:

Background and surface colors
Text hierarchy (primary, secondary, tertiary, muted)
Accent color for "your" items (saved articles, etc.)
Semantic colors (fresh, success, warning, error)
Light and dark mode variants

The Five Palettes

Paper

Light Mode

Warm parchment tones inspired by printed books. The default palette, perfect for a cozy, literary reading experience.

Dark Mode (Ember)

Warm charcoal with amber accents, like reading by candlelight. Ideal for evening reading sessions.

Ocean

Light Mode

Pale seafoam background with rich teal accents. Clear water, morning calm, focused clarity.

Dark Mode

Deep teal-black with bright mint accents. Professional and clean.

Dusk

Light Mode

Pale lavender with soft violet accents. A creative, contemplative space.

Dark Mode

Deep violet-grey with dusty rose warmth. Perfect for creative professionals and evening reading.

Midnight

Light Mode

Clean neutral grey with blue accent. Minimal and modern.

Dark Mode (True Black)

True black for OLED displays. Maximum contrast, battery-efficient.

Slate

Light Mode

Cool light grey with Things-inspired blue. Professional and task-oriented.

Dark Mode

Neutral dark grey with modern depth. Inspired by productivity apps.

Changing Your Theme

Go to Settings
Tap Theme under Essentials
Browse the palette options
Tap to select your preferred palette

Color Scheme Override

By default, Current follows your system appearance (light or dark). You can override this:

Go to Settings
Scroll to Color Scheme
Choose System (default), Light, or Dark

Reader Theme

The reader can use a different theme than the rest of the app. This is useful if you prefer one aesthetic for browsing and another for focused reading.

Go to Settings
Tap Reader Preset
Select a palette for the reader

The reader also has its own color scheme override. You can have the main app in dark mode while reading in light mode, or vice versa.

Semantic Colors

Throughout all palettes, certain colors have consistent meaning:

Accent (warm amber/gold): "Yours": saved articles, personal items
Fresh (blue): New content, fresh items
Success (green): Completed actions, healthy states
Warning (coral): Caution, attention needed
Error (red): Problems, failures

These semantic colors are adjusted per-palette to harmonize with each theme while maintaining their meaning.