DeviantArt Eclipse: when the switch back disappeared

DeviantArt's August 2019 layouts organize browsing differently. Classic keeps its category list beside the artwork; Eclipse puts filters across the top, including All Categories. The visible list has disappeared from the left, while a category filter remains.

The March 6, 2019 welcome post instructed members to use a toggle in the top navigation to switch to Eclipse.^[14] That offered a way to try the redesign without immediately giving up the old page.

By October 1, the official instructions included a qualification: newer accounts created in Eclipse would not receive the Classic toggle.^[15] Two people discussing the same site could therefore have different choices. An established member could compare interfaces by switching; someone who had joined through Eclipse could already be confined to the replacement.

Our two captures record the layouts during that overlap. They do not establish a universal day when everyone first saw Eclipse.

DeviantArt's dark 2019 capture makes the color change obvious. Yet the company's October announcement offered dark, light and green themes, alongside tag muting and different ways of reviewing account feedback.^[15] Choosing green still left a member inside Eclipse.

This separates two kinds of preference. Color could be changed within the redesign. Returning to Classic required access to the other interface, with its familiar navigation and arrangements for artists' work.

The company's feature list also helps explain what Eclipse was trying to add. Profiles could use a cover image and a Custom section containing text and images; the Watch page gathered work from followed artists, while recommendations suggested others.^[15] These were specific alternatives to learn. A theme could make the page more familiar at a glance without making those workflows identical.

A petition created on April 22, 2020 opposed forcing DeviantArt members onto Eclipse. Its demand concerned keeping a choice. When checked on October 7, 2026, the petition displayed 27,490 verified signatures; that is the later counter, not its total in May 2020.^[17]

Classic closed with the full launch on May 20, 2020.^[16][18] In our May 21 capture, the dark gallery contains a cartoon gathering around two gravestones mourning the old DeviantArt and the Flash category. A protest against the new site is visible inside its artwork feed.

After Classic closed · 2020-05-21

The launch announcement offered choices within Eclipse, including pagination or infinite scrolling for Browse and Search. It also listed future work, such as improvements to Groups and more profile personalization.^[16] Members could adjust how they used the replacement. The option to keep the old site had ended.

DeviantArt's May 29, 2020 response addressed the question behind the petition directly. The Team said old code made new development harder, and maintaining both designs would lead to breakages as their code and user flows diverged.^[18]

Its explanation also concerned new members. The company argued that Classic's complicated interface deterred newcomers and that Eclipse did better at attracting and retaining them. These were DeviantArt's stated reasons for committing to the rebuild.

The refusal came with unfinished business. The Team acknowledged work needed on Groups, the Literature and Journal editor, saving Literature drafts, collecting and favoriting, the Posts feed, and profile personalization.^[18] That list shows why feedback could still matter after the decision: it could shape the replacement, even though reopening Classic was off the table.

DeviantArt's May 21, 2021 capture remains dark, with a large artwork grid. A slim strip of icons occupies the left edge. The old vertical Categories list has not returned.

Eclipse in 2021 · 2021-05-21

The later page gives a visible follow-up to the company's refusal. Eclipse continued to change, while the old navigation in our opening image stayed retired.

Slashdot's Beta dispute ended with users reunited on Classic. DeviantArt also had two versions during a transition, then consolidated on its replacement. The shared starting point did not determine the result. A green theme could survive inside Eclipse; the switch to the old site did not.