How to Upload A Logo To Work in Both Light and Dark Mode In Jira

[#1]

Summary

This article will outline best practices for uploading a logo to work in both Light and Dark Mode in Jira. 

To change your logo

The logo appears in the top left corner of every Jira application page. The height of the logo image must be constrained to 30 pixels. We also recommend you use an image with a width of 57 pixels.

1. Choose > System.

2. Under USER INTERFACE, select Look and feel.

3. In the Logo section, upload the image for the logo you want to use for your Jira site. You can also upload from a URL beginning with http:// or https://.

This is mentioned in this article: Configure the look and feel of Jira applications

That said, you can change your Theme to Light, Dark, or Match Browser within your Personal Jira Settings:

• https://yoursitename.atlassian.net/secure/ViewPersonalSettings.jspa

Use transparent PNGs

Using a transparent background ensures that your logo won’t have a white box behind it on a dark background. 

But this only works if your logo is a color that looks great on both light and dark backgrounds. For example, this light blue text is perfectly readable in white and black:

Use strokes, drop shadows, or glows

These are all relatively minor changes you can make to a logo file so that it works in both light and dark mode.

Add a stroke

A white stroke around the entire logo will be invisible on white backgrounds but make a black logo still prominent on dark ones. Here’s an example with our logo:

Make sure to play with the shadow opacity, blur, x-height, and y-height to find the best fit for your specific graphic. You may also want to just add a shadow to some elements, like logo text.

Add a glow

A glow can also make your logo jump off the page on dark backgrounds. Again, this may not be the best solution for every brand. 

All three of these solutions may or may not be a good choice for the brand you’re working with. Designers typically don’t love them because they can cheapen the brand or make things look off in general. And, in many cases, they’re strictly forbidden in brand guideline documents.

Preview in Dark Mode

The only way to really know how your logo (and other graphic elements) look in dark mode is to test them. :)

Put a gradient behind the logo

Adding a gradient behind the logo ensures that it’s still visible without creating the kind of hard, jarring lines that a white box would. The logo could fade gently into the background (or header image) in a way that’s on-brand and accessible. This could also work in both light and dark mode.

Relevant Documentation:

• Configure the look and feel of Jira applications
• How to turn on dark mode in Jira?

I hope this helps!

Christian B.

[Dave Mathijs]

Thanks for charing @Christian Beaulieu

On a completely different note: I wish Atlassian would offer a lot more icons and avatars for projects and request types. They haven't changed for ages and the choice is very limited.

[Teodora V _Fun Inc_]

Remembering some of the issues past-me has, that article is super helpful, thank you @Christian Beaulieu 

I completely agree with you, @Dave Mathijs, I would appreciate some creativity in the icon/avatar field.

[Alain Borlet-Hote]

Is it possible to configure having two logos, one for light theme and one for dark theme?

[Guillermo Simeon]

I am surprised we can't. Does anyone know if adding a logo "per theme" is in the book?