Dark is the New Black

Something fascinating is happening in the world of modern product design, especially in AI-native experiences. Black means business.

OpenAI, Perplexity, Midjourney, GitHub, Vercel, HuggingFace—the leading edge of AI interfaces has converged around a common aesthetic: dark mode by default. Think black backgrounds, glowing gradients, high-contrast UI. It’s not just a design trend anymore - it’s become a signal.

A signal of intelligence. Of sophistication. Of what’s next.

In many ways, this mirrors what we’re seeing inside Salesforce as well. As we rolled out our new Design System to customers, we didn’t set out to ask a few things, but a surprising insight surfaced on its own—customers loved the dark mode.

They didn’t just notice it—they felt it. They associated it with clarity, focus, elegance, and a sense of modernity.

It’s easy to overlook just how much brand and aesthetic shape perception—especially in a world racing toward intelligent systems. When customers interact with AI-powered products, they’re not just evaluating features. They’re assessing tone, visual language, and trustworthiness at a glance.

That’s why, if I were starting a product today—AI or otherwise—I’d begin not with the feature list, but with the brand palette. The feeling. The first impression.

Something I’ve been reflecting on for pifo as well. What does betterment look like in an intelligent, infrastructure-first world? Maybe it’s time to ask:

Does your brand look like it belongs to the future?