Tips for eliminating extremely fine light and dark borders from a navigation bar

Question

Tips for eliminating extremely fine light and dark borders from a navigation bar

I recently had a client bring to my attention a very faint light line and thin dark line present in the active link of their navigation bar. Despite being barely visible, it is still there. I have attempted to adjust the CSS, but given that the lines are less than one pixel wide, I am uncertain if the issue lies within the CSS.

Here is the URL:

If you focus on the "Home" link in the navigation bar, you'll notice that as the active page, it appears with a rusty orange color and features a slim light border on its left side. On the right side, there is a narrow dark edge situated between the orange and turquoise hues.

Does anyone have insight into what might be causing this visual anomaly?

css

Answer 1

Answer №1

Sub-pixel artifacts are the reason behind this phenomenon.

In today's world, sub-pixels are used to enhance text smoothness on screens. These sub-pixels are arranged in a vertical RGB (red, green, blue) orientation, although the order may vary depending on the screen.

rgb|rgb|rgb
---+---+---
rgb|rgb|rgb
---+---+---
rgb|rgb|rgb

This results in a navigation bar layout like the one below:

blue       |    red    |   blue
---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---
  b|  b|  b|r  |r  |r  |  b|  b
---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---
  b|  b|  b|r  |r  |r  |  b|  b
           ^           ^
           |           The darker line caused by distant sub-pixels 
           |
           The lighter line caused by close proximity of sub-pixels

An illustration depicting the typical pixel arrangement in an LCD screen is also included:

During color transitions, such as from blue to orange, our eyes perceive colors differently based on the relative positions of green, blue, and red sub-pixels. This can create the illusion of white or dark colors.

Considerations for Mobile Devices

Due to image resampling and screen scaling on mobile devices, these effects are less pronounced. Additionally, changing screen orientations can introduce artifacts in different directions.

To learn more about how these effects contribute to rendering smooth text, refer to the Wikipedia article linked here: Wikipedia

This is the current state of screen technology, with no easy solution without altering the design.

Answer 2

Sub-pixel artifacts are the reason behind this phenomenon.

In today's world, sub-pixels are used to enhance text smoothness on screens. These sub-pixels are arranged in a vertical RGB (red, green, blue) orientation, although the order may vary depending on the screen.

rgb|rgb|rgb
---+---+---
rgb|rgb|rgb
---+---+---
rgb|rgb|rgb

This results in a navigation bar layout like the one below:

blue       |    red    |   blue
---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---
  b|  b|  b|r  |r  |r  |  b|  b
---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---
  b|  b|  b|r  |r  |r  |  b|  b
           ^           ^
           |           The darker line caused by distant sub-pixels 
           |
           The lighter line caused by close proximity of sub-pixels

An illustration depicting the typical pixel arrangement in an LCD screen is also included:

During color transitions, such as from blue to orange, our eyes perceive colors differently based on the relative positions of green, blue, and red sub-pixels. This can create the illusion of white or dark colors.

Considerations for Mobile Devices

Due to image resampling and screen scaling on mobile devices, these effects are less pronounced. Additionally, changing screen orientations can introduce artifacts in different directions.

To learn more about how these effects contribute to rendering smooth text, refer to the Wikipedia article linked here: Wikipedia

This is the current state of screen technology, with no easy solution without altering the design.

Answer 3

Answer №2

When you encounter a white line on your screen, it may be due to a monitor defect or simply an optical illusion. Here is an enlarged screenshot from Google Chrome to demonstrate that there is no column of lighter pixels.

To address this issue on my particular monitor, I experimented with different styles and found that applying the following CSS code helped:

.nav-bar>li#active>a{ border-left: rgb(146, 108, 66) 1px solid; }

By adding a 1 pixel darker orange border to the left edge, the problem was resolved. However, upon closer inspection at higher zoom levels, the solution appeared less satisfactory compared to the original display.

Answer 4

When you encounter a white line on your screen, it may be due to a monitor defect or simply an optical illusion. Here is an enlarged screenshot from Google Chrome to demonstrate that there is no column of lighter pixels.

To address this issue on my particular monitor, I experimented with different styles and found that applying the following CSS code helped:

.nav-bar>li#active>a{ border-left: rgb(146, 108, 66) 1px solid; }

By adding a 1 pixel darker orange border to the left edge, the problem was resolved. However, upon closer inspection at higher zoom levels, the solution appeared less satisfactory compared to the original display.

Tips for eliminating extremely fine light and dark borders from a navigation bar

Answer №1

Considerations for Mobile Devices

Answer №2

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