An illuminated electrophoretic device comprising of an electrophoretic display having a set of microcapsules suspended within a insulating liquid. The insulating liquid can be sandwiched between a first surface and a second surface, where each microcapsule encapsulates a set of charged particles. The first surface can be transparent, permitting light to be transmitted. A light source can be configured to transmit visible light through the first surface and/or the second surface. The transmitted light can illuminate the microcapsules and/or the insulating liquid.