This would be very nice to have, so by all means if you can whip up a PR, we'll be happy to review it... We'd want to test it carefully for usability on white, light yellow and black terminals, but if it really works well across all three, it could be a nice new default (leaving the others available for those who want them).

Two cents: Black/White contrast is not the only kind of contrast found in the colour spectrum. Text that has the same b/w balance can be perfectly readable if you use opposite colours wisely. Notice how Solarized is readable while avoiding overuse of b/w contrast.

Another way of dealing with this issue would be just to make it easier for the user to customise the colour scheme, rather than just revamping the default ones. As it is, to change the colour scheme I don't just have to change the definitions at IPython.utils.coloransi, but I have to make sure IPython.core.prompts, IPython.core.excolors, IPython.utils.PyColorize and IPython.core.oinspect all use the colours I defined and where I want them to. A central file with all the colours definitions would simplify that a lot. (Please note that I'm working on IPython-0.13)

Perhaps a 3rd party package can be used, e.g.:
https://pypi.python.org/pypi/colorama

or perhaps pygments + solarized? not clear if "ansi" output is well supported though, these packages tend to slant towards html.

is it possible that I can be assigned to this issue?

@tgmiller5 I don't know how this project is typically operated, but I'd hazard a guess that you can just go ahead, make a pull request, attach a couple of screenshots and go from there!

@tgmiller5 thanks for offering to help! Indeed a PR with some progress is all it takes, but in the event it helps you manage your workflow, I've assigned it to you. Any input/progress you may contribute will be greatly appreciated!

I'm interested to contribute to this issue. So, kindly accept my request @dimaqq

@DhanushA1307 I'm not a maintainer here.
Additionally I'm not clear what your request is.