Developer Insight: Introducing the new Dark Mode for EFOS iPad

We are thrilled to announce the release of Dark Mode for our Journey Log customers on EFOS for iPad. We caught up with Senior iOS Developer Craig Walker to find out more about this exciting new feature and where his design inspiration came from.

What prompted the development of Dark Mode for EFOS iPad?

Dark mode was a feature that was highly requested by many of our customers. Here at Evoke we work in collaboration with our clients to develop and implement new features across the product suites to ensure we continuously improve the EFOS experience.

It’s becoming the norm in modern day digital products, such as mobile apps, for users to be able to access a Dark Mode. Research has shown it offers many health benefits, such as reduced eye strain, especially for those who may be viewing their devices for long periods of time. This is also particularly relevant to our customers. Aviation is the industry that never sleeps. With airline employees working round the clock, we wanted to introduce dark mode to assist those who are flying at night. Without a dark mode, significant eye strain could occur which may cause other issues for our Pilot and Cabin Crew users.

Evoke Senior iOS Developer Craig Walker

When developing dark mode, what considerations were given to the design?

We wanted to create a dark mode that was instantly and easily accessible for our customers. Careful consideration was also given to which colour palettes to use, how we would highlight important messages or mandatory fields and which combinations would work best to reduce eye strain. The decisions for colour assignment for each piece of content was driven by its importance.

The darker theme eliminates bright fill colours to reduce eye strain, whilst the tinted text brings attention to those important notifications and mandatory data fields. Using this approach, we have created a set colour palette for the dark them that could then be reverse engineered for the existing light theme, which our EFOS users know and love. Under the hood we use a semantic colour system that allows us to easily switch between dark and light themes at any point, aiding our ability to roll this new feature out to other iOS modules across the product suites quickly and efficiently, providing a consistent user interface and experience across the app.

Will dark mode be available for all EFOS Product Suites with iPad functionality?

To ensure we delivered the greatest value to our customers as quickly as possible, we decided to launch dark mode with our Journey Log module. The implementation of our own design system has allowed us to build a solid foundation which will allow for quicker future rollouts.

How is dark mode accessed?

In line with our desire to make it instantly and easily available for our customers, dark mode is accessed by simply pressing the lightbulb icon at the top right of the screen. This will allow you to flick between light and dark mode depending on your requirements.

 

Product implemented

Before EFOS

Air Malta was struggling with a leave management process that was highly complex and labour intensive. Each leave request had to be processed manually, which meant pilots and cabin crew were forced to wait a long time to get confirmation of their leave.

 

After EFOS

EFOS Leave replicated the airline’s custom validation rules in the new digital platform. This made the transition smoother, as these rules were already accepted by both union representatives and crew members.

 

What they said

“The project was delivered very swiftly, enabling Air Malta’s team to quickly realise the benefits of the new software. The team at Evoke were committed and totally onboard for this project. The system was easy to understand, and help was always found along the project.”
Caroline Zammit