The accent color on a Mac refers to a secondary color used across the operating system to highlight certain interface elements. This provides visual contrast and draws attention to important controls and information.
What is the purpose of the accent color?
The accent color serves multiple purposes on a Mac:
- It highlights key interface elements like buttons, menus, sliders and progress bars.
- It indicates when something is selected or active.
- It provides visual contrast between foreground and background.
- It creates hierarchy, directing focus to important controls.
- It establishes a color relationship between different parts of the interface.
For example, clicked buttons and highlighted menu items appear in the accent color. Scrollbar handles, sliders and progress bars feature accents of the chosen color. It provides a visual indicator of what’s active and being interacted with.
The accent color also draws attention to things like folder tags in Finder, calendar events in Calendar, and search highlights in apps. This makes key items and information stand out.
How to change the accent color
The default accent color in macOS is blue, but you can customize it to your liking. Here are the steps to change the accent color on a Mac:
- Go to System Preferences > General.
- Click the color well next to “Accent color.”
- Choose a color from the color picker.
This will update the accent color used across the system instantly. You’ll see the new color applied to buttons, menus, highlights, progress bars and more.
Where is the accent color used?
Here are some of the main places that make use of the accent color in macOS:
- Buttons – Both clicked and highlighted buttons use the accent color.
- Menus – Selected menu items are highlighted with the accent color.
- Focused window controls – The close, minimize and full screen buttons use the accent when focused.
- Selected rows – Tables and lists show selected rows in the accent color.
- Progress bars – The progress indicator bar features the chosen accent color.
- Sliders – Sliders like brightness, volume and size use the accent color on the control.
- Search highlights – Apps highlight search terms in the accent color.
- Tags – Folder tags in Finder appear in the chosen accent color.
- Calendar events – Calendar highlights events in the accent color.
- Borders – The accent color is sometimes used for borders around interface elements.
- Text selection – The text cursor and selection highlights use the accent color.
Accent color vs highlight color
The accent and highlight colors work together in macOS but serve slightly different purposes:
- Accent color – Used for interactive elements like buttons and controls.
- Highlight color – Used for text selection and highlights.
The highlight color defaults to a pale version of the accent color. So if you change the main accent color, the highlight color will update automatically to match.
You can customize the highlight color separately in System Preferences > General > Highlight color. But in most cases keeping it linked to the accent color works well.
Tips for choosing an accent color
Here are some tips for selecting an accent color on your Mac:
- Pick a bright, saturated color – Pale muted colors don’t make good accents.
- Consider contrast with menu bar – The accent should stand out clearly against the menu bar.
- Avoid conflicting with background – Don’t match the accent color to desktop or window backgrounds.
- Remember it’s used system-wide – The color will be seen across apps so choose wisely.
- Try different hues – Experiment to see which hues look best as accents.
- Check dark mode appearance – Be sure the color looks good in both light and dark modes.
- View sample buttons – The color picker shows sample buttons to test the accent color.
Reasons to change the default blue accent
Here are some reasons you may want to change the default blue accent color on your Mac:
- Make controls stand out – A different color accent may increase visibility of buttons, sliders, etc.
- Improve contrast – Adjust for better visual contrast depending on wallpaper and content.
- Fix color clashes – Avoid color clashes between the accent and app interfaces.
- Personalization – Choose an accent color you find aesthetically pleasing.
- Coordination – Match accent color to complementary hues used across apps.
- Branding – Select branded colors that suit your business orstyle.
- Accessibility – Change to an accent color that’s easier for you to see.
- Change it up – Refresh the look and feel of your Mac interface.
Even if you like the blue accent color, it can be fun to try different colors and see how it changes the look of your system. A different hue can give your Mac a whole new vibe.
Interface elements that don’t use the accent color
While the accent color is widely used across macOS, there are some interface elements that don’t adopt the chosen accent color, including:
- Dock – The Dock uses a transparent background and white indicators that don’t change.
- Finder sidebar – Sidebar elements like Devices and Shared disks use a fixed blue color.
- Menu bar – The menu bar background and text colors don’t change based on the accent.
- Desktop – Wallpaper, icons and folders don’t use the accent color.
- Scrollbars – Scrollbar backgrounds don’t change, only the handle uses the accent.
- Window borders – Inactive windows have a gray border color rather than the accent.
- System Preferences – Sections use predefined colored icons rather than the accent color.
So while the accent color unifies much of macOS, it’s not used absolutely everywhere. Some parts of the interface keep their own separate styling.
Accent color in apps
In addition to the system UI, many Apple and third-party apps are designed to incorporate the chosen accent color for highlights, controls and information:
- Photos – Uses the accent color for toolbar controls and selected items.
- Notes – Selected notes show accent color title bar and highlights.
- Calendar – Events appear in the accent color on Month view.
- Mail – Displays mailbox names in the accent when selected.
- Safari – Uses the accent for highlights and active elements.
- Finder – Tags on files and folders use the chosen accent color.
This provides a consistent experience across the system and apps. The accent color flows through many places you interact with on the Mac.
Accent colors and Dark Mode
When Dark Mode is enabled, the accent color takes on a lighter, desaturated version throughout the UI to integrate with the overall darker scheme.
For example, a vibrant red accent color in Light Mode will appear as a soft pink color in Dark Mode interfaces.
This ensures the accent color remains visible, but is more muted to prevent bright colors from feeling overwhelming or distracting in Dark Mode.
In most cases, the auto-adjusted version of the accent color you pick works well. But you can also customize the Dark Mode accent independently if desired.
Conclusion
The accent color is an important part of macOS, adding highlights and visual contrast across the system. It draws attention to important elements and unifies the interface.
Choosing an accent color is largely personal preference – pick a color you find aesthetically pleasing and that works well against your chosen wallpaper and Dark Mode appearance.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with different accent colors to give your Mac a fresh new look.
| Keyword | Word Count |
|---|---|
| accent color mac | 4019 |
