Designing for E-Ink displays requires a fundamental shift in thinking. The constraints of electrophoretic technology — slow refresh rates, monochrome rendering, and no backlight — become advantages when embraced rather than fought against.
The Core Principles
Every design decision should minimize screen repaints. This means avoiding animations, transitions, hover effects, and large filled areas. Instead, rely on borders, whitespace, and typography to create visual hierarchy.
Design for the constraint, not against it. E-Ink's limitations are also its strengths: zero eye strain, week-long battery, and readable in direct sunlight.
Typography First
On E-Ink, typography does the heavy lifting. Use a system font stack to avoid network requests and ensure instant rendering. Set comfortable line heights (1.5 or greater) and constrain line length to 45–75 characters for optimal readability.
Font weight variations (normal, medium, bold) provide clear hierarchy without requiring color differences — essential on a grayscale display.
Interaction Patterns
Touch targets should be generous (at least 44px). Focus states must use outlines rather than background color changes to reduce repaint area. Form validation should be inline and persistent, not ephemeral tooltips that require rapid screen updates.