Light in notifications refers to the use of LED lights, color, and other visual cues to communicate information on electronic devices. Notifications allow apps, services, and the device’s operating system to get the user’s attention and convey important alerts, messages, reminders, and other timely information.
Why are lights used for notifications?
Lights are an effective way to deliver notifications because of how quickly and easily visible they are. The human eye is naturally drawn to light and color. Small LED indicator lights and colorful software indicators on screens can immediately catch a user’s attention in their peripheral vision.
Light and color are used for notifications because:
- LED lights only use a small amount of electricity so they are energy efficient for small devices.
- LEDs provide bright, vivid colors in a small package.
- Light is an omni-directional alert, visible from a wide angle compared to the fixed direction of a screen.
- Colors allow users to differentiate the urgency or type of alerts at a glance.
- Light cuts through other sensory distractions to get noticed by the user.
- Glowing indicators work well even in low ambient light conditions.
The use of light alleviates the need to distract the user with loud sounds for every minor notification. It also avoids interrupting the user with popups that take over the screen.
Types of notification lights
Some common ways light is used for notifications on devices include:
LED indicator lights
Small LED lights are built into hardware like smartphones, laptops, gaming devices and peripherals. They typically shine through subtly from under plastic panels, along edges, or via small cut-out windows. Multiple LEDs may be used in different colors. Some examples include:
- The notification LED on smartphones that flashes different colors for incoming calls vs texts.
- The RGB notification LED strip on a gaming keyboard that lights up for different game alerts.
- The power status indicator LED that pulses when a laptop battery is low.
- The RGB LED light bar on the front of a PC case that lights up when a new email arrives.
Screen UI notification icons
User interface icons, symbols, and other graphics are used on screens to notify the user. This includes:
- Flashing mail icons on smartphone apps.
- Pop-up banners at the top of a desktop screen.
- Colorful status bar icons that indicate connectivity, signal strength, etc.
- Exclamation points on menu icons to represent alerts.
These graphical UI elements may flash, animate, change color, or otherwise attract attention when activated.
Screen backlight flashing
Some devices will flash or blink the entire screen backlight to signal notifications. This is sometimes used instead of notification LED lights on minimalist devices like smartwatches and fitness trackers.
Notification light colors and meaning
The color of notification lights often carries specific meaning. While meanings can vary on different devices, here are some common associations:
| Color | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Blue | Incoming notification from a social app |
| Cyan | Calendar reminder or event |
| Green | Email, message, or other communication |
| Yellow | Snapchat or social media alert |
| Red | Low battery warning |
| Magenta | System error or problem |
| White | Generic notification |
Pulsing or flashing light is often used to add urgency compared to solid illumination. Some devices rapidly cycle between colors to signify different types of alerts.
Advantages of notification lights
The main benefits of using light for notifications include:
Unobtrusive
LED indicators and colorful screen icons provide awareness without interrupting workflow or distracting the user with loud sounds and popups.
Informative
Colors and patterns communicate the source app, category, urgency, and other details about notifications.
Intuitive
Users quickly learn the meaning of different light colors and behaviors for their device.
Instant recognition
The eye instinctively recognizes the appearance of new light in the user’s peripheral vision.
Power efficient
LEDs use very little electricity compared to powering larger screens or speakers for notifications.
Versatile
Small LEDs can be integrated into all types of electronics and peripherals to add notification capabilities.
Disadvantages and limitations
There are also some downsides to relying solely on notification lights:
Easy to overlook
Small LEDs in corners of devices are sometimes blocked by cases or overlooked by the user.
Limited information
Simple light indicators cannot convey as much detail as text or icons on a screen.
Meaning unclear
Users unfamiliar with a specific device may not understand what different colors signify.
Accessibility barriers
Those with color blindness or vision impairments may not notice or interpret notification lights well.
Distracting in dark environments
Bright flashing LEDs can be disruptive and annoying when trying to sleep or adjust to darkness.
User preference
Whether notification lights are helpful or annoying is highly subjective. User studies find notification light preferences often depend on:
- Environment – Flashing lights are disliked in dark, quiet settings.
- Device usage – Light indicators are more useful on devices with frequent alerts and notifications.
- User habits – Those who are attentive to devices and notifications favor LED indicators.
- Specific needs – Some users with vision impairments or light sensitivity may dislike or disable notification lights.
To accommodate different preferences, many systems allow users to customize LED light behavior in system settings. Options can include:
- Turning notification lights on or off.
- Choosing light color per app or notification type.
- Setting blink/pulse rate and brightness.
- Scheduling when LEDs are active, like only during daytime.
The future of notifications
Some emerging trends around notifications include:
Smart LED lighting
Internet-connected RGB LED light strips and bulbs could be integrated with notifications allowing an entire room’s lighting to change based on alerts and messages.
Projected interfaces
Smart glasses and other wearable displays are starting to provide notifications overlaid onto the real environment instead of small simple lights.
Notification hygiene
More systems may adopt notification limits and do-not-disturb schedules to avoid overloading users with disruptive alerts.
Heads-up displays
Futuristic interfaces could provide floating on-demand notifications only when a user gestures or looks in a certain direction, removing the need for notification lights.
Conclusion
Notification lights play an important role in modern digital interfaces by delivering alerts in a convenient yet unobtrusive way. Flashing LEDs, status bar icons, and other light-based design elements enable users to monitor notifications at a glance using their peripheral vision. As technology evolves, the role of light for notifications is likely to become smarter and more seamless.