For decades, the Apple ecosystem has been defined by a very specific color palette. By default, whenever you select a file, click a checkbox, highlight a paragraph of text, or open a dropdown menu on a Mac, the operating system uses a signature, vibrant blue to indicate that an item is active. If you are tired of looking at that exact same shade of blue every single day, or if you simply want your computer to match your personal aesthetic, macOS allows you to completely change this system-wide accent color.
How to Change the Accent Color
Changing this setting alters the fundamental look and feel of almost every application on your computer.
- Click the Apple Logo in the top left corner of your screen.
- Select System Settings from the dropdown menu (or System Preferences on older Macs).
- In the left-hand sidebar, click on Appearance.
At the top of this menu, you will see a row of nine colored circles labeled Accent color. The default option on the far left is “Multicolor” (which defaults to standard blue but allows developers to occasionally override it). The remaining circles offer a specific, locked color palette: Blue, Purple, Pink, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, and Graphite (Gray).
Click on the Pink or Green circle. The change is instantaneous. The toggle switches in your settings menu, the focus rings around text boxes, and the selection boxes in the Finder will immediately adopt your new color choice.
How to Change the Highlight Color Independently
Directly beneath the Accent color circles, you will see a dropdown menu labeled Highlight color.
When you change your Accent color (e.g., to Pink), macOS automatically changes the Highlight color to match. This means when you click and drag your mouse over a paragraph of text in Safari or a Pages document, the background behind the text turns a soft pink.
However, you do not have to keep them matched. You can set your Accent color to Graphite (giving all your menus and buttons a sleek, professional gray look), but click the Highlight color dropdown and set it to Yellow. This gives you a subdued operating system, but leaves you with a bright, high-contrast yellow highlighter marker whenever you need to select text.