Update: 32 new avatars available! 😍

Happy new year! <3

I will add/suppose that a problem with "just picking another color or image" is that we either have something which isn't for everbody (like what we have now), or it has to be customized, which is a database which needs to be stored, which will then need to be transitioned to GO. That aligns with the explanation we are referred to frequently, with the transition of the whole site. You may need to pay somehow to store the data as well...

Anyways, happy Gregorian new year, and I shall continue probably luring people to discuss here by noting that I'm surprised/fascinated by how odd it is that people are coming in to say things, even now in 2022 (after multiple months of this having happened). Sorry! o_o

@Kestron

Alas! You and I both. We point out the irrationality in this background removal hype and elicit no response...

I'm going to quote a few people's comments that I agree with.

VEXCESS | 8 months ago | 59 votes

I agree completely with Hydra. The new avatars are a neat addition, but please bring back the backgrounds. The profile page has way too much white now. The backgrounds looked cool, and the contrast from the backgrounds made the whole page look better. Plus I was really hoping to have the 1,000,000 energy points background someday.

Edit: I have read through most of the comments below and have not seen a single person in favor of the removal of backgrounds. I think it would make everyone happy if they simply added the background image back.

KA Boys | 8 months ago | 27 votes

It's too bright for students with eye sensitivity and thus isn't as accessible as it should be and say that you can't add extensions because you're using a school-provided device.

🐿️Professor Squirrel🐿️ | 8 months ago | 45 votes

The new avatars certainly add more variety to the avatar collection. They are of a totally different feel from any of the other avatars. Even though I have already seen a fair deal of negative talk about the new avatars, I am all for them because KA is adding more options/features, and not taking away anything from any user. If you don't like a particular avatar, don't use it!

That said, I do not agree with the decision to remove the customizable bio-area background on the profile page. It takes away from some users and adds nothing. To put it simply, I don't like the lack of that colored background on the profile pages. There is too much white; it is too bland; and it hurts some people's eyes. Even though it wasn't all that much color, it really helped to break up the monotony of the profile page. I've attached a picture that I happened to have of my profile page a few months ago, and placed it side-by-side with a new screenshot of my profile. The new one sure looks a lot more boring, bland, and might I say, not as professional? The other thing is, the background around the bio area split the profile up into two parts; 1: The top part said who the user was, and 2: The bottom part said what the user has accomplished.

Recent times have seen some big changes in the KA website. One was the removal of the daily streak feature. From the screenshot of my profile, one can tell that I had a pretty good streak going, and thus was very disappointed in the removal. However, I was in favor of the removal because it would simplify the transition from Python to Go (since they removed it, it sounds like it would simplify it significantly). The streak widget was buggy anyway. With the removal of customizable profile backgrounds, it sounds like it was purely an aesthetic decision; the original post said." Our design team also simplified the profile background." Since some people apparently think that the lack of the backgrounds looks better, why not have the backgrounds as an option? Have the old backgrounds, but also have just the white space as an option.

Overall, I am happy with the addition of new avatars; those have been requested for years. But I am disappointed with the backgrounds being removed. Perhaps the Khan Team isn't being fully transparent with the users? Was this somehow related to the Python->Go transition? More information on the decision to remove the backgrounds would be very much appreciated by me, and I'm sure by many other people.

Μɑɠɱɑ | 8 months ago | 20 votes

I've gotten my energy points for a good background. I did math for it, and learned so that I could have a welcoming background I liked. I was proud of my streak, and I really loved my background, since it looked like a good place for my tree piceratops. And when you take away the backgrounds just for some new avatars, take away streaks, I feel like my profile is losing the very beauty it still has left. Are you going to remove badges next?

Let us have a competition for us to make our own backgrounds for users to have. Let us choose what we want. We can choose what we want, right? And I think the majority of us agrees with me, Hydra, VEXCESS, John, and everyone here. If we can make good backgrounds that satisfy you, can't we use it? The majority of us do want it, anyway.

Canada Goose#FrostineFTW | 8 months ago | 14 votes

Reading through these comments, I haven't seen a single person say that they appreciate the plain grey backgrounds. They're just boring and dull and I can't really understand why they're considered to be "more enjoyable and streamlined." When I first came to Khan Academy, I had a different account, and that was where I completed most of Intro to JS. When I made this account, I rewatched videos and redid challenges like the simple snowman, just so I could get enough energy points to unlock a cool background, but I found it really boring because it was so easy. Now it feels like that was just a big waste of time.

As for the new avatars, they're kind of cute, but I agree with everyone else; they look like things a six year old drew, and are definitely not worth losing the backgrounds. They are super different from the style of the other avatars, and look strange next to them.  I'm not against them, but I'm not exactly a fan of them either.

All in all, I think this is a pointless update. Please bring back the backgrounds.

Lucy van Pelt | 8 months ago | 15 votes

I'm very disappointed with the removal of backgrounds. I was actually hoping they'd add some new ones. 

If backgrounds aren't coming back, please change the solid colour background to something a bit darker. I often study or code late at night and the off-white is very hard on my eyes. It's a pain to switch the brightness settings on my computer just for my dashboard. It doesn't look that great and professional either. My dashboard is something I look at almost every day multiple times, and I really appreciated the ability to customize it.

Please don't remove the old avatars. I've become quite attached to mine, and the new ones are too childish for my liking.

Sorry to complain when you're just trying to improve things, I don't mean to be rude.

Timothy | 8 months ago | 19 votes

To be frank, the new avatars to seem counter-intuitive *and* counter-productive. I am not sure how these avatars are beneficial? They look hand drawn. They look 2D, like pieces of paper. Do you want to site to look like it was done by an 8-year-old? 

If so, might as well add comic sans then you will really scare people away.

Additionally, the style looks like it is from the 1990's? Am I the only one getting that vibe? That is too young for a throwback, and to old to look modern lose-lose.

Is the motive to appeal to Elementary students? Why on the planet? They cannot even comment, and most of the material is over there heads. With the amount of college material, I would recommend making the website look as professional as possible, while still fun enough for a 10-year-old.

Honestly, I do not care if you add avatars. Please, please, please do not take the old ones away, as you all but implied!

As for the backgrounds, I like the white to be honest. Looks weird, but I look lightmodes :D I do not see the point in removing them, however maybe just set the default to white?

Homeschoolers, I feel safe to say, generally have a negative view on change. I would try to limit it. Do you want this to turn into Duolingo, which changes massively every two months?  The frequent change literally made me sick to me stomach. I did not even want to use the website. I have not for months. I understand the Python to Go, however.

Forgive me for being harsh. KA is a wonderful website with wonderful people behind it sacrificing massive amounts of time to educate. I commend that mission. I want to thank each and every one of the staff and guardians for keeping this place safe for everyone.

I also am incredibly grateful of the appeal to homeschoolers, that I honestly doubt you completely understand. Us homeschoolers are an interesting part of society :D

CУБΞЯЩФLF | 8 months ago | 8 votes

I don't want to write much because my point has already been driven in by multiple people, but you need to bring back the backgrounds.

The backgrounds were an important part of the profile, and now that they're gone, the profile is too bright to look at (at least for me)

One more thing, I am concerned about the ultimate avatars for the future. If you continue to do this coding Migration, then does that mean, everything that doesn't fit the new style such as old spice man and the ultimates will be terminated? I really hope it does not happen.

Maybe you could instead of making it only white, you could at least add an option to make the background a nice dark grey? I feel it is highly needed.

ÐoɠIovɛɼ | 8 months ago | 6 votes

I personally don't understand why backgrounds were removed. I enjoyed the challenge of gaining enough energy points to unlock them, and the avatars. I find that taking away avatars and backgrounds that you're able to level up isn't helping, but hurting the community, especially for younger learners who need an extra incentive.

I understand how these new avatars "match KA more" but they only give appeal to younger learners, whereas much of the older users are against them. I believe that if you add avatars that are made by KA users, such as the primavera avatars, it will give a greater appeal to use them. Also, when I joined, the avatars that you could level up had the most appeal to me. Now that more "free" avatars are added, it gives kids less incentive to learn. I would much prefer 1 new original style, evolvable avatar to any of the new ones.

Lastly, why were backgrounds removed? I found that, like the avatars, it was a fun challenge to try and get more of. Now, our profiles have too much white and grey, making it harder on the eyes of those who are light sensitive. I don't understand how the backgrounds were a "distraction of the Learner home". The learner home should be aesthetically pleasing, and customizable, because it's the "hub" of our KA experience. If you want less distractions, please get rid of, or at least lessen the amount of new avatars. I feel like they disrupt a T&T section when I see them. 

I have read all 46 comments on this article (at least, when this was posted) and all of them are against the removal of backgrounds, and most of them are against the new avatars. Why won't you listen when we are all united under one request? It is one wish we make! Will KA start radically changing repeatedly now? I for one, don't like radical, regular change, and I'm sure that most of KA's users don't either.

Please listen to KA's cry: Bring the backgrounds back!

Sithis | 8 months ago | 8 votes

Khan Designers,

I think (and every comment I've read so far agrees) that taking away the backgrounds was a very unnecessary decision. Can you imagine any person ever in the world ever saying this? 

"Oh, yes, thank you, I would rather have a plain white uniform background that hurts about 50% of the population's eyes, takes away contrast, and makes the whole page looked rushed and partially not loaded, than a choice between 5 simple, darker backgrounds that didn't hurt peoples eyes, looked good, and separated the profile information from the learning page".

No. I can't either.

Now, to pick apart your 2 different posts explaining the seemingly logical reasons for taking away the backgrounds.

In your first post, you stated that you had "simplified the profile background and amped up the personality on the characters themselves to provide a more enjoyable and streamlined experience". First of all, good job using the word simplified. Although I would've called it oversimplified. Secondly, nobody I have yet to meet thinks that taking away the backgrounds is an "enjoyable" feature of the new update. The rest of the comments says it all. 

In your second post, you stated that the off-white background was "reducing the distraction of the Learner home, giving it a more open feel and providing a greater contrast and focus for the colorful avatars".  First thing wrong with this, it provides no contrast. Off-white does not contrast white and pastel colors. Light doesn't contrast light. That's just not how it works. However, a darker color, such as the one from the previous backgrounds? That would have contrasted everything so much better.

The new avatars are great, but I think that having the old backgrounds would have made them so much better.

▓█▓ JS_The_Programmer_Art ▓█▓ ™ | 8 months ago | 10 votes

In my eyes, I truly feel this UI change was not beneficial for the management's popularity.

About Avatar Changes:

I do agree with Quinn Hardbrook on the avatars, they do seem only to appeal to much younger users, I know you're going with new KA Reps, but I'm not sure everybody will like this, and by everybody, I mostly mean KA Veterans, but in all honesty it looks like a step down, in overall quality, pretty dramatically, talk about providing a greater contrast and focus for the colorful avatars, they sure stick out all right, they just don't seem as lovable or memorable as our Hopper or Winston, now they're all just cookie cutter, they're all the same in a way, the old avatars had such a wide variety of creatures.

About the Background Changes:

"We found that, even though some people loved the different profile backgrounds, very few learners were engaging with them. This made it a logical choice for simplifying as part of this project."

I don't feel it's simplifying, it's just getting rid of them entirely, I also feel like you guys used the wrong words in this statement, "logically," it doesn't sound logical to me at all, it's like saying:

"Fire alarms let us know our building is engulfed in flames, but if little to no people use the fire alarm regularly, just get rid of it, it's taking up space on the wall."

And if "very few learners were engaging with them", why were they so big a distraction, it's reason enough to take them down, if anything, I think the white backgrounds are way more distracting, they seem so out of place after getting used to the original backgrounds.

I think the backgrounds gave users something to work for, regarding energy points, continue to learn, work up points, get your reward: a cool new background, but if you want users to focus on the new avatars based on your new KA reps (which don't require energy points to earn or change) instead of avatars like, Leafers, Starky, OJ Squid (which do require energy points or change), what is the point in having energy points at all, are you going to remove those too!? This goes back to Learning Streaks, one of the best ways to get people to learn more and keep up their streak, people would keep out thousand day streaks, looking for the next thing to learn, and now, it's gone.

I don't see at all how "simplification", enhances or benefits the user experience, in any way at all, or if that's even your intention.

purplebanane12 | 8 months ago | 6 votes

I liked when I logged into Khan Academy I was greeted by a page that had a fun, nice background with my avatar and it encouraged me to get learning. Now it's white. Like a blank sheet of paper. My profile looks not as interesting. So the avatars, you don't really have to work for them it just automatically gave them to me. I think I would appreciate them better if I had to work for them since it takes effort to get them. Like badges.

I personally don't think the background were a distraction, I thought it was fun and I like fun educational sites and it kept me motivated.  

Also can I just say that the badges like Cypress, Redwood, Sequoia, and Bristlecone don't work anymore because(I think) they removed streaks so it stoped counting the days?  Kinda a useless badge since it dons't work, or can you make it work that'll be great! My profile says I've been here for a year and I still haven't gotten the badge. My friend has also been on here for over a year and still hasn't gotten the badge. 

ENDER HΛVEN『』 | 8 months ago | 12 votes

Dear Khan Academy,

Many people have simply repeated the same request over and over again (which really drives the point), however, I think I could better serve you by offering a few solutions instead of simply pointing out problems.

Microsoft Got It Right.
With the Minecraft community, they propose an idea (before publishing it) or have a poll of some sort for the next feature.
They wait for community feedback and change the development accordingly.

Originally, however, they started much like you are doing now, pushing things they think the community will like, without actually asking them. Hence 1.9 combat (which basically everyone was mad about), much like here with the removal of backgrounds and the unsolicited avatar style change.

You need some way of connecting and getting input more directly from the community while in the process of developing an idea. [BEFORE YOU PUBLISH IT]

That alone will get you quite far in making Khan Academy the world's best learning platform, since the community will be directly assisting in the development of Khan, khan will be built for the community itself, not for what some of you may think the community wants.

Might I suggest designing a few backgrounds or avatars and letting the community 'spend' energy points (which must be earned after you start the event) to push for their favorite?
That would likely encourage many users to learn as they work toward getting their favorites added.
Of course, you don't have to make it a contest, you can make it so there's a special avatar that requires say, 2,000,000 energy points instead. (believe it or not, people who care enough to stick with Khan WILL WANT IT badly.)

Cake and Cookies [Online] | 8 months ago |  6 votes

Please bring back backgrounds. I loved that everyone was able to have their own unique backgrounds, and I loved the way mine looked. I know many people worked very hard to have backgrounds they liked, and now they feel like that's been ripped away from them and all their hard work was for nothing.

When I first saw the update, I was excited to see the new avatars, but thought my background hadn't loaded, and legit reloaded the page three times and checked the customization option before realizing that my backgrounds were gone. 

I haven't seen a single person who has said that they liked the removal of backgrounds, and the whole community is angry about it. Right now, a program talking about how much they dislike backgrounds is at the top of the hotlist, and this post has -40 likes. Doesn't that tell you something about what the community thinks about it? Isn't this whole site supposed to be making everything be fun and having a good community that listens?

Also, it would be nice if you added some user made avatars, there are many that coders have spend weeks and months on. 

Whatever you do, please, PLEASE do not get rid of the avatars we know and love. 

Please listen to the community and #BringBackBackgrounds

Edit: Also, I'm upset that backgrounds are too hard to add in, but 32 new avatars don't seem to be too hard.

Yohan Lee ✔︎ | 8 months ago | 3 votes

My eyes hurt because there isn't any background on my dashboard. Too bright! Wish there will be more new badges, avatars, backgrounds I could earn by working on it, not for free! That would much more motivational for people. It would be much more appreciative when Khan Academy would let us know when they update and change the website. I don't understand why they retired and removed a few badges and the streak last time and this time the background. Wish the backgrounds will come back. Otherwise, I do love Khan Academy but the few recent updates made the site less more interesting.

G. Tarun | 7 months ago | 6 votes

Hi, Laurie @KA, Warren, and the Khan Academy design team!

I have two suggestions that can be implemented in the near term to make the Learner dashboard look better.

First, could you please introduce a box around the warm grey profile background? And could you draw this box with the same grey divider line that currently separates a learner's My Stuff section from the courses they're studying?

To make this suggestion concrete, I've attached two images below that show what this boxed background could look like. I created both by taking a screenshot of my learner dashboard. In more detail, the first one I copied the borderline beneath the Khan Academy logo, inverted the selected portion of the image, and pasted it beneath the profile area. For the second one, by contrast, I selected the color of the border line and drew one to enclose the profile area.

I'm by no means an illustrator or designer (yet) and have no training in digital art. The above images are simply to clearly indicate what sort of border would make the learner dashboard seem less exhausting to the eyes. While adding backgrounds will take a lot of resources, I think enclosing the profile area in a box would be possible in the near term.

The line that I speak of is the same one that demarcates the Khan Academy logo and Donate button section from the Learner Dashboard. And it's very similar—identical, in fact—to the line separating one comment from the next in this very Community conversation.

It's a short-term change that's simpler than introducing new colored backgrounds—it literally involves boxing the warm grey background with the grey divider line to separate it from the rest of the Learner Dashboard—and I think it does make a huge difference in the experience learners have with the dashboard.

This brings me to my second suggestion that in conjunction with the borders, can help improve the Learner experience:

• Please introduce two changeable backgrounds, but not just any backgrounds—one is the current warm grey (with no changes whatsoever) hopefully encolsed within the grey box, while the other is the white that already pervades a large portion of the Learner dashboard.

In other words, please enable learners to choose whether they'd want to have a white or warm grey background for their avatar. Both backgrounds would look clutter-free, thanks to the borders around them.

These changes, I believe, can be implemented in the near term. And I'm sure they'll make the Learner dashboard look better.

Beyond these two suggestions, I'd like to add in my thoughts on the new avatars and the warm grey background. You could skip this part if you're pressed for time.

First, I love the new avatars! I use the blue Boggle to stick to my learning habits—there's something about the mere presence of an out-of-context eye staring at you that enhances accountability by astronomical proportions, and I read about this in Daniel Kahneman's book Thinking, Fast and Slow.

Green Sneak Peak is my other favorite avatar—so contemplative, echoing Sal's study tip to "ponder and draw connections" when studying! On a related note, the avatars' names are interesting, too—Area 52, Sneak Peak, Cacteye.

And the best part of the avatars? The old avatars are still available! I only have one request regarding the old avatars: regardless of what design changes you make, please try to retain the classic leaf avatar, with the current colors. Again, if it cannot be supported in your new code base, that's fine too—I'm still a Khan Academy learner and always shall be.

Also, if you're modifying existing avatars or adding new ones, I have two suggestions to make.

First, please introduce smiling versions of Marcimus and Pants, as they are in Encouraging your child. I prefer those versions to the distressed-looking ones in the avatars.

The Khan Kids characters all smile by default—yes, they encounter problems in their stories too, but they retain their composure even in times of adversity (Ollo optimistically says "I'll fix it with tape!"  when various objects in the wilderness break his bicycle in the story "Ollo's Bike") so it would be nice if Marcimus and Pants had contagious smiles on their faces as well. The Encouraging your child illustration is just soo good!

Second, could please you introduce the Khan Academy Kids characters Ollo, Sandy, Peck, Kodi, and Reya as avatars in the regular Khan Academy? Each character could start as a baby version and upgrade to the default KA Kids version just two levels for each avatar. This upgrade needn't necessarily be one that learners get only when they earn energy points it could be enabled for all learners by default, just as Learner mode is.

In more detail, baby Peck could be just an egg with his feet and beak and a tiny strand of red plumage sticking out of the shell, like one of the birds in the line for ice cream! Baby versions of Ollo, Sandy, Kodi, and Reya could be created as well. If you'd like, you could also add in the ice cream sloth as a bonus avatar—I love the serene smile on their face!

Yes, this would look incongruent with Khan Academy's current design style, but why not make it interesting with elements that at first sight do not appear to fit with one another? Moreover, children who study on Khan Kids would be thrilled to have the characters as avatars on the regular Khan Academy as they grow up.

I'm an undergraduate student and I myself would love to have the Khan Kids characters as avatars now. If Khan Kids existed when I was in pre-school and I studied using it, I'm pretty sure I would have complained about the absence of my Khan Kids friends on regular Khan Academy. (On a related note, the only regret I have in life is not knowing of the regular Khan Academy earlier than April 2020; Sal started it at exactly the same time as I started pre-school!)

Note that I'm not suggesting adding voices or sounds of the Khan Kids characters just their images as avatars, possibly with toddler and regular versions of each character. This would also connect the two Khan Academy portals Kids app and the regular website and app and help Khan Kids graduates smoothly transition to using the regular Khan Academy to continue their learning.

Moving on to something said a few days ago by Laurie @KA, I'm thrilled to know that the Khan Academy team wants to optimize the platform to facilitate distraction-free learning! I'm an adherent of focused work too, and I wholeheartedly appreciate the direction toward promoting deep concentration while learning.

(To that end, you could perhaps introduce a feature in the Settings where a learner can turn off the blue notifications notifications and instead simply click the notifications button in scheduled slivers of time to see if there are any important notifications. And please, please don't introduce instant messaging or chat features!)

I also have more content and feature requests that nicely dovetail your Goliath code migration project and, more important, wouldn't cost anything beyond rearranging existing Khan Academy resources. (One of them involves embedding your guided meditation videos onto your website.) But then, that's a story for another day – and another thread!

SherlockHolmes.42 | 7 months ago | 3 votes

I want to preface this by saying thank you to Khan Academy for every time this wonderful site has helped both me and students I've tutored (as a peer). I can't begin to imagine the work put into maintaining, expanding, and creating this site, but I am truly thankful for the work the Khan Academy team puts into this learning platform.

I, personally, am not for the removal of backgrounds. This is both for the aesthetics of the site and other reasons (I will go into those later), but I can understand the change. I am a novice programmer, but I know there is a difference between when the commenters show how to change a simple screen to another color, and implementing an interactive list of backgrounds to choose from on an international site used by millions. The transition of the underlying code of Khan Academy is not an easy one, and I understand if this change involves losing some features for a while.

I say "for a while," because I do hope that, eventually, backgrounds will be added. However, I only ask for this to happen when it is not a major inconvenience and will not take time away from more important things. The reasons that I ask for backgrounds to be added are for two reasons. The first is simply aesthetics - I think the grey backgrounds don't look great with the white profile. They seem more bland, less fun, and more of a "this is for school and is not a fun site." Which brings in the second reason. Taking away backgrounds takes away motivation. Granted, learners who come to Khan Academy purely because they need it will come regardless of how it looks. However, learners who come because they want to these removals of backgrounds, badges, and daily streaks are taking away the fun, the motivation. I was personally working towards the Ramanujan badge when the badges were removed. I completely understand why those were taken out - the processing power and effort simply wasn't worth it. However, backgrounds were something of a substitute for those who hadn't reached a million energy points yet. It was something to work towards to, to achieve. Unless Khan Academy is working towards becoming a site that is only for those who absolutely have to come, like a school textbook, I do suggest that you keep the backgrounds, add some of the badges back, or come up with a new way to reward learners who come because they want to (I personally think the backgrounds would be easiest, but I am an inexperienced coder, and there may be an easier way to add motivation back into the site). I just ask that you remember that there are two learners on Khan Academy: the learners who have to come, and the learners who want to. And helping the learner who wants to come can help the learners who have to come by helping them learn how to want education. That's what I love about Khan Academy. You begin with someone who is just taking classes because they're forced to, and then Khan Academy makes them start wanting to learn. These changes and removals in features haven't entirely taken away this wonderful attribute, but I feel that it is threatening to. I may be wrong, mislead, or entirely misgauging how much work adding the backgrounds or other features back in would cost. But I just ask that you consider this when making the final decision on whether backgrounds will ever be added back in.

🏮🔥Phoenix King🔥🏮 | 4 months ago | 0 votes

    I agree with the others (I may seem like a new learner but I was locked out of my old one so i made a new one). I miss the background and the new avatars aren't that great. The new avatars are not as detailed as the old ones were and there isn't any earning them and where is the fun in that. I always liked the contrast the background provided and I was looking forward to earning the new ones. So please bring them back!

NEURONZ | 3 months ago | 3 votes

#BringBackBackgrounds

Backgrounds were one of the best customizable things in Khan Academy, and losing backgrounds felt like losing profiles themselves. In the next big update, KA should bring back the original backgrounds, along with new backgrounds. You should also have a feature that when you unlock the last background at 1,000,000 (1 million) energy points, then you can unlock an option to upload your own images or GIFs as your background and/or avatar. Maybe this would be better off at 1,500,000 ( 1 million and five hundred thousand) or maybe even 2,000,000 (2 million) energy points. I urge KA to consider this idea.

#BringBackBackgrounds

These are the reason why a lot of things were removed and/or changed:

Laurie @KA | 8 months ago | -119 votes

Today Khan Academy added 32 new avatars as possible choices for your profile (8 different characters, each with 4 styles). As the Khan Academy visual language evolved, so have our avatars! To make these avatars more engaging, our design team also simplified the profile background and amped up the personality of the characters themselves to provide a more enjoyable and streamlined experience. All of them are unlocked and ready for you to use, head over to your profile to check them out now! 

As always, we'd love to hear what you think. Have any early favorites? (Team orange Stelly over here.)

Laurie @KA | 8 months ago | -24 votes

Hey everyone - first of all, thanks for all your thoughtful feedback on this update so far. It’s clear that this is a part of the site that’s meaningful for a lot of people so I wanted to get more info straight from the teams involved in these changes to give you further context.

First, on the decision to change the backgrounds from multiple options to one - as 🐿️Professor Squirrel🐿️ alluded to, this was another change driven in large part by Khan Academy's code migration project. Every day, behind the scenes, various parts of the site are being rewritten in Go and published, and the team has been looking for opportunities to simplify the overall experience as part of this. We found that, even though some people loved the different profile backgrounds, very few learners were engaging with them. This made it a logical choice for simplifying as part of this project. That said, we could have been more transparent about that rationale in the announcement and I apologize for that miss.

Second, on the style of the new avatars - you’re all right that these new avatars are very different than our previous ones, but that’s intentional. You might have noticed that various parts of the site (including this Help Center) have been getting a design update over the last year+, and that’s to better align with Khan Academy’s current modern visual language. For example:

These new avatars are more consistent with that design style, and you can expect to see additional design updates over time that brings more of Khan Academy into alignment with it. That said, feedback is always welcome and valued on these changes.

Third, on the new light background. This is was chosen as the profile background color with the goal of reducing the distraction of the Learner's home, giving it a more open feel, and providing greater contrast and focus for the colorful avatars. In general, the team wants as little as possible to distract students from learning, and the Learner's home is where their assignments live and where the vast majority start working from.

Finally - thanks again for your energy and feedback around this topic, and around Khan Academy in general. Design decisions will always have their detractors but I hope this at least helps better explain the rationales behind this one. Feedback continues to be very welcome, the team reads it all.

VEXCESS | 8 months ago | 20 votes

I as an experienced programmer in the computer programming section of Khan Academy understand how it would be a lot of work to recreate the whole streak system in the new GO programming language because you need to keep track of lots of data and constantly be monitoring it for change and updating that data and then the display for it is a lot. But even though I am not familiar with the GO language, I do not think it could be too complex to add background images in the new language. To draw the background all they would need to do is something like this

$.getJSON("https://www.khanacademy.org/api/internal/user/profile?username="+name+"&format=pretty&callback=?", function(data) {

document.getElementsByClassName('user-info')[0].style.backgroundImage = "url("+data.backgroundSrc+")";

});

If adding image backgrounds is too hard, I know for sure that it would be incredibly simple to switch the white background to black (or other dark color) with one line of CSS. Although plain black isn't as nice as the background images, it would be a way better design and just plain white. 

I never thought that the background images were distracting from learning. In fact, I think the big white area is worse for learning as it's really distracting because it's an eyesore. A darker color is needed to provide contrast and a more professional look.

(Yes, the background area is actually really light gray and not white, but it still doesn't provide enough contrast)

Laurie @KA | 8 months ago | 3 votes

Hey everyone - I wanted to give you an update on recent internal discussions around backgrounds.

Since this background change was launched, there's been many thoughtful points raised in this thread and elsewhere and discussed within multiple teams at Khan Academy, and I have a couple of takeaways from them to share.

One of the biggest conclusions I want to go ahead and be transparent with y'all about is that the option for multiple backgrounds isn't going to be re-added. I know this is not the news this group wanted to hear, but due to the code migration project taking up nearly all of our development time, and the lack of usage of this feature (meaning that a very low percentage of people ever changed their background from the default design), it won't be something that gets prioritized in the foreseeable future.

However, given the feedback about the current default background color, the design team is taking some time this week to evaluate various other options that might work well as a new background color and text combination. Although to be totally clear here too - any new designs would need to work within accessibility guidelines around color and contrast, as well as fit well with the Khan Academy brand language, so we can't promise a specific outcome at this moment. I should have more information about this project on Friday.

To be honest, these conversations have been tough - we truly wish we had a team big enough to fulfill so many more of these learner, teacher, and parent requests while improving site performance, reliability, and security, but we are a relatively small team and we do need to make difficult tradeoffs as a result. But I will say that I think the team has learned a lot from these retrospective discussions that will improve our updates in the future, so thank you all again for the feedback. We seriously appreciate the passion y'all have for Khan Academy and for each other.

VEXCESS | 8 months ago | 4 votes

Let's take an overview of what we know.

What Happened: The Khan Academy Developers removed backgrounds and added new avatars.

Why: The developers are converting all of khan academy's code to a new language. Converting the code for the backgrounds would be a lot of work and they need to focus on more important things since a cosmetic background isn't as important as making Khan Academy actually work.

Wait But If They Need To Focus On Important Things, Then Why Did They Add New Avatars: Avatars are pretty important to Khan Academy. I don't even want to imagine the chaos that would happen if there were removed. The developers, therefore, needed to convert the old avatar system to the new language. Since they now already have a working avatar system, it's incredibly easy and super quick to add new avatars unlike adding backgrounds which would be a lot harder

Results: With backgrounds removed the developers needed to put something there instead. As a result over half of all Khan Academy users are highly disappointed.

Why: The developers can't worry about backgrounds right now so they need to choose a solid color that's easy to implement. They went with a super light grey because it's a pretty standard color.

Result: Over half of Khan Academy user's eyes are being hurt by tons of bright light shining in their face. And Khan Academy's profile page doesn't look as good as it did before.

Is It Really Over Half Of Khan Academy Users: Since the community post has far more negative votes than positive votes I would say yes. 

Possible Solutions To The Problem: The most obvious solution would be to re-add backgrounds. But that is an unrealistic solution and won't happen anytime soon for the reasons stated above. So the only other solution is to make the background a color that everyone likes and matches well with the avatars. So let's think, what color would work well as a background. Well most colors would cause the avatars to blend in which is not desired. So lets think of the possible colors that would not have that problem: the only colors that would not have the problem of avatars blending in are a light shade of white or a dark shade of black. We have already seen that a light shade of white is not ideal since it provides no contrast with the rest of the page and is "too much white". The only other reasonable option is the make the background a dark near-black color. I have read through all the comments people have left on this comment thread and it seems that the majority of people would be in favor of a dark background.

A dark background would not hurt anyone's eyes, it would look good, it would provide contrast, and it would be incredibly easy to add. It seems that just about everyone here would prefer a black background over a white background. It seems that having a near-black or black background would be the best possible solution to the problem. What I don't understand is why the Khan Academy developers are against having a black background. Can someone explain to me why the Khan Academy developers are against having a black background.

Some small bit of messages you have there! XD

I am not a fan of this at all. It used to make me happy whenever I unlocked a new background w/ energy pts.

Bring back backgrounds!

The added avatars are pretty good, but the backgrounds...

I was saving up energy points to unlock a background when the backgrounds suddenly disappeared.

So, I want the backgrounds back.

oh wow il use them right away

Please KA. Bring back backgrounds. I like that you guys are adding new avatars but no backgrounds?! Backgrounds and streaks were literally one of the only things keeping me motivated. MY badge Orionid on my child account is nice and all, but we need streaks back. Backgrounds made your profile look nice! Now it's just white!!

Look at how plain this is!

Hey guys, if you use the Khan Academy extension, then this is no longer an issue. Thanks to the work of the extension devs, and Vexcess, backgrounds now work as they used to. So, you guys can just use that.

If, with the extension, backgrounds still work, doesn't that mean that the new avatars are a good thing? I don't see a loss at all anymore now that backgrounds are restored...

"backgrounds now work as they used to"

Partially, you can see your old background on your profile and see other people's old backgrounds on their profiles, but you are unable to change your background. Which is kinda unfortunate because I'm almost at 1 million energy points.

But yeah install the Khan Academy Extension and you get some neat features and stuff including being able to see backgrounds on profiles.

I recently found out about that I had the Cosmos background. I decided to put on one. (before I had heard nothing about backgrounds) Then, I found out that backgrounds was removed! Can't you just put it back?

'We found that, even though some people loved the different profile backgrounds, very few learners were engaging with them. This made it a logical choice for simplifying as part of this project. That said, we could have been more transparent about that rationale in the announcement and I apologize for that miss.'

I don't really care for backgrounds, I don't even have the EP for them, but let us be real here. The community made this large of a ruckus and then you want to dismiss it saying that 'very few learners were engaging with them'. If you cant give me a reason, at least make it sound intelligent. To quote the Screwtape Letters: "The style of 'functionalism' has denied . . . of half its functions." Honestly, making the website more modern, and (by what you alluded to in your post) functional, has denied the website of its ability to function properly.

So now I see that backgrounds have been added back, but how do I change them? I once had the background for 100k energy points but now it is just the free blue one.

https://cdn.kastatic.org/images/profile/backgrounds/bg-blue.jpg

It is not a proper return of the backgrounds, you use the KA Extension, correct? The extension will retrieve the last background you had set and display it on your profile again for those who use the extension. However, due to this not being implemented by KA themselves, it is not possible to change.

Oh, thanks. I didn't know before.

I've been on this site for many years (on different accounts), and on one of them, I got 1,000,000 Energy Points and the millionaire background. Now when I log onto that account, I see a blank gray page. It feels like I have to "start over". Please, KA. Please add an option for backgrounds so our profiles aren't just blank pages. If people don't like it, they can just turn the backgrounds off. 

G. Tarun I'm not allowed to go on social media, so may you please also add an image of the avatar? Ty!

BRING BACK BACKGROUNDS!

I was saving for cosmos when the background suddenly DISAPPEARED!

just saying

The backgrounds were the main reason I was motivated to keep getting energy points back on my old account.

I understand that this could be hard to implement in the current codebase, but it's just unfair that so many great features (missions, streaks, lots of badges, and of course, backgrounds) have been removed, and all that's been added in is a bunch of new avatars.

#BRINGBACKBACKGROUNDS

I really want them back. Also they are way too unmatching with the content and avatars.

I don't exactly like white as a background color.

I want the backgrounds back. As many people say in this page, the backgrounds are just 'dull' and they want them back. Therefore, backgrounds should be brought back.

All these comments are pointless. No one is going to read them. Just look at the -150 downvotes, and any point you could make has already been made.

Bring the backgrounds back! I saw people with great backgrounds and planning to do one too. Now, they are removed! PLS BRING THEM BACK!!!!!!!

Yo can you guys bring this back. Why do companies keep making decisions that everyone hates and forcing us to live with it

I just returned to KA after a years-long break and it's so ugly without the profile backgrounds! They motivated me since they cost energy points or whatever the currency was. And nobody from KA is listening to the user base about it, it seems, which is even worse. Sad but typical.