Idea
#498: Better GUI theme
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953
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Written by mmmurf the 29 Feb 08 at 02:19.
Category: Look and Feel.
Related to:
Nothing/Others.
Status: New
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Description
While the default Ubuntu theme in Gnome is OK, there is room for A LOT more refinement. I would like to see things like:
- Beautiful icons like those in OSX
- Cutting edge, highly readable fonts
I would especially like to see tremendous attention to detail paid to all kinds of small things, such as default icons, etc. Much of this may come in the form of enhancements to the default Gnome/KDE themes.
There is just something incredibly pleasing about the look of OSX, and Ubuntu deserves to look at least as good.
With the right input from top designers, this is possible.
example from duplicate idea 5581 :
http://fc02.deviantart.com/fs22/f/2007/321/2/f/Ubuntu_Theme_Mockup___Light_by_b radwjensen.jpg
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Comments
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hackel wrote on the 29 Feb 08 at 06:59
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Do you realise how much Apple graphic designers are paid for this work, and how much time they put into it? I think Ubuntu and its icons look pretty darn good for a community-supported operating system!
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Graf wrote on the 29 Feb 08 at 07:38
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Bloating up Ubuntu with cruft is not a bright idea.
This just isn't essential when so much work needs to be done fixing core functions.
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oblique63 wrote on the 29 Feb 08 at 10:04
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even though I agree with the posters above, I still strongly agree with the idea... I mean, if there's one thing linux in general lacks over the commercial OSes is 'polish', namely GUI polish-ness... OpenSuse and Manriva (despite its questionable menu icon in the last release) I would say, are the leaders in this movement to start appeasing the average, judgmental Mac/Windows user with a more GUI-centric design. Even smaller distros like DreamLinux get that, and they're developing a following largely based on that fact, despite still being relatively unstable for desktop use. Overall, I guess I would say that it is simply not a viable option to leave the GUI as it is if the aim is to gain more popular appeal in the long run, however, it should be left up to the developers to decide how they want to prioritize that. as of gutsy, I think its about stable enough to start working on the visual elements a bit more, but I cant really comment, seeing as how Im not familiar enough with whats been going on 'under the hood'
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Tom Mann wrote on the 29 Feb 08 at 11:52
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"Do you realise how much Apple graphic designers are paid for this work, and how much time they put into it?"
It didn't stop the KDE4 guys' Oxygen project!
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openstandards wrote on the 29 Feb 08 at 12:33
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Tango is already sexy besides do you have any idea on how many icons would need to be created surely it would be better to port Oxygen onto gnome.
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TheAethereal wrote on the 29 Feb 08 at 14:25
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The theme for Xubuntu is beautiful. Though it is very similar to Vista.
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BadChoice wrote on the 29 Feb 08 at 15:08
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The problem here is that the best graphic designers don't use ubuntu, if they do, sure they'll create some good themes and icons.
Time to time
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belovedmonster wrote on the 29 Feb 08 at 17:13
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You only need to look on Digg at any story involving Ubuntu's appearance to see how many people can't stand the way Ubuntu looks. The Ubuntu community seriously need to pull their head out of the sand and realise that:
A. Ubuntu is falling behind all the other big distros in the quality of its artwork and appearance.
B. People really care about visuals so you cant afford to fall behind.
Just because hardcore Linux geeks don't care about appearance or are geeky enough to know they can change things in a few minutes is no excuse for ignoring visuals.
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sillhuwet wrote on the 29 Feb 08 at 21:10
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I like the way my Ubuntu (Studio) looks. I would hate it if it would become something terribly overdone and shiny like OSX... Keep it simple.
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jeanpaul145 wrote on the 29 Feb 08 at 21:36
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AFAIK work *is* being done to revamp the theme in Hardy, but it's the extent I'm no sure of.
It was supposed to become some black and orange theme, but I've never seen any screenshots or anything.
Btw. I think some work should be done in Gnome to extensively support SVG, and then ACTUALLY USE IT. I can't stand the lame bitmap graphics, they look horrible if you try to use something like Avant Window Navigator...
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rsepulvedacl wrote on the 29 Feb 08 at 22:06
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I find this very useful to migrate from Mac OS X: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/global_menu
There could be an option with profiles to get the most comfortable GUI (a Windows XP-like, a Mac OS-like or the traditional GUI of Ubuntu, etc.).
I like Royale Noir theme very much (unfortunately is available only for Windows XP). UbuntuStudio theme is nice, but not all the programs looks well with it. :-S
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Bulle Bas wrote on the 29 Feb 08 at 22:24
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Ubuntu is a great technical achievement, with a fine community. The website and the complete offering of the product for the different audiences is just great.
I know the nerds, I study computer science. They are power users who always find edge cases for software. They don't understand design.
Apparently, design isn't understood by the Ubuntu contributors as well. No pun intended.
Normal users will feel if the design is right. Ubuntu's design isn't that pleasing. To deliver some constructive feedback:
1) Fonts needs to be redone. The width and x-height of the current font are totally out of balance. Fonts must be both crisp and smooth. Look at ClearType in windows xp. Ubuntu doesn't have that level of detail. In vista it is even beter. Font rendering on the Mac is also of high quality. It is extremely important to get this right!
2) Icon design is a craft only some people understand. There are many free icon packs. Although it takes a lot of time to create these, they are in fact useless. I feel sorry about that, but someone needs to say what is wrong. Common pitfalls:
i) icons don't have a coherent style. Choose an angle, stick to a palette and specify design guide lines.
Colors should be vibrant and vivid.
ii) icons are not distinctive
iii) message and form don't coerce.
iiii) Todays icons in Ubuntu are too big.
hat makes professional icons.
3) Use a right color scheme. You can't pick nice colors. Orange as the main color bites you in the face. The high intrinsic brightness puts it selves on the front of the screen. An OS colour should be a supporting colour that can be used on the back. Orange is too active, it is fatiguing. Did you ever wonder why BLUE is so much used by Windows and Apple?
4) Order your visual elements to promote usability. Design forms with good grid systems.
A final advice: ask the real professional designers to supervise the design. Partition the redesign proces and allocate these professionals to the disciplines in which they are experts. To give an example: John Hicks for icon design, Jos Buivenga for icon design etc ;)
Also hire some gays. :P
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Bulle Bas wrote on the 29 Feb 08 at 23:00
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I meant "Jos Buivenga for font design"
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jonathan324 wrote on the 1 Mar 08 at 10:17
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I think it's fine now. Please don't rip off any OSX stuff.
KDE is for the eye candy, if you really need more.
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christopher_lees wrote on the 1 Mar 08 at 10:47
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Bulle Bas, if the fonts don't look clear and they look like they're too tall or too wide, then you don't have your display set up correctly.
I've used a CRT and an LCD and I have no idea what people are banging on about when they complain that "fonts aren't crisp".
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Bulle Bas wrote on the 1 Mar 08 at 11:10
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@jonathan324
I don't mean that one should copy OS X. I don't mean one should make it candy. I do mean however that one needs to do a right design. It isn't right now, every educated designer can tell you.
I feel you think design is making 'flat' things looking fancy.
@christopher_lees
No, I exclude that option because I see the same problem on all screenshots of Ubuntu. It has nothing to do with an incorrect display setup.
The default font is wrong, and the font rendering can't compete with the PC and the Mac.
Seriously, Ubuntu is a great distro. But the technically minded people hinders the widespread adoption because they interferes themselves with design. Please stop doing so.
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mcturra2000 wrote on the 1 Mar 08 at 13:04
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I'm using Leopard right now. It's gorgeous. I tried DreamLinux in VirtualBox. It's gorgeous, too.
Then I start up Gutsy. Oh my oh my what a contrast. My own theory about why 7.10 is called Gutsy Gibbon is because it looks like a gibbon has taken the contents of its guts, and smeared it all over my monitor.
In fairness to Ubuntu, the fonts and icons are really shaping up nicely. The background and colour scheme needs a rethink. Even small things like the windows borders shape don't look right. There's a lot of fine detail that needs working out if it is to be on a par with OS X. It's not so much a question of "fancy", more of "refined aesthetic sensibilities".
I'm not into customising my desktop in a big way, but the default setup is really quite bad. The default decorations are bad, so I switched to Crux. It's nicer, but the default colour is purple. Purple, mind! I downloaded a nice blue pic for my background, and chose a blue for Crux that matched the background. It's much more harmonious.
A thing I'd like to see are "theme packs". I've downloaded things from Gnome Art, and I've always been a bit puzzled by the various "bits" which comprise it. I would like a simple one-click installer, where I get a complete theme with all the trimmings.
Why not commission the guy from DreamLinux to sort out your next theme?
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probono wrote on the 1 Mar 08 at 16:34
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Who (besides Mark) really likes brown(ish)?
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gespertino wrote on the 1 Mar 08 at 17:55
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This is so subjective... I'm ok with the default brown look. It has a strong identity weight.
Ubuntu evolved to be the most popular distro using brown since the beginning, so I wouldn't say it hasn't succeeded.
It's so easy to change the appearance of the Gnome desktop. Just go to gnome-look and download a theme, then drag it on the appearance panel.
Ubuntu looks DIFFERENT. That's it. Orange isn't better or worse than other colors with the same value and saturation. The palette is warm, transmits peace and tranquillity.
Stop asking for clones. People is talking about Dreamlinux, which has a desktop inspired in Mac.
If you don't like the theme, change it in your installation. You can install a Fisher Price (ehm, Windows XP) theme if you want it.
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Bulle Bas wrote on the 1 Mar 08 at 18:40
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@gespertino
> This is so subjective...
If good versus bad design is really subjective, than it doesn't make sense that you react on this request.
> I'm ok with the default brown look. It has a strong identity weight.
It's recognizable, but that's only a beginning.
> Ubuntu evolved to be the most popular distro using brown since the beginning, so I wouldn't say it hasn't succeeded.
Are you kidding? It's still only in use by technical enthousiasts / nerds. You certainly can't conclude from the fact that the distro is a favorite for the linux folks, that its design is right.
> It's so easy to change the appearance of the Gnome desktop. Just go to gnome-look and download a theme, then drag it on the appearance panel.
You don't understand it. Read above comments. Creating and polishing an OS GUI takes a lot of work from real professionals.
> Ubuntu looks DIFFERENT. That's it. Orange isn't better or worse than other colors with the same value and saturation.
value? You don't understand color theory.
> The palette is warm, transmits peace and tranquillity.
Stop asking for clones. People is talking about Dreamlinux, which has a desktop inspired in Mac.
Warm indeed.
Dreamlinux isn't good either. Look at the screenshots and see the inconsistent gutters. Again no grid. It's only more fresh. To repeat:
WE DONT ASK FOR A CLONE. WE ASK FOR FOR A COMPETING GUI THAT HAS PROFESSIONAL QUALITY.
> If you don't like the theme, change it in your installation. You can install a Fisher Price (ehm, Windows XP) theme if you want it.
Stop kidding. You don't even know what you're talking about.
If you like your crippled GUI, keep it. We want a good design. The devel is in the details, and no theme comes even close to contemporary OS'es.
We know it can be done better.
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ethana2 wrote on the 2 Mar 08 at 07:17
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Gnome-look.org needs to have a completeness and polish filter for themes. I've contacted them to that effect.
We have good themes; we have nodoka, mint, studio. Why aren't they in Ubuntu? Not Made Here? Choice. Just pull them in.
Also, you'd be amazed what you can do with a contest, a t-shirt, and a list of credits. It's worth doing. Looks are important, defaults are important. To be quite frank, Human looks ugly; but I hate orange, red, yellow, and brown, so it /might/ just be me.
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jiu wrote on the 2 Mar 08 at 11:28
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I agree with no brown, I think Ubuntu has so far managed to reach the top IN SPITE OF its theme, thanks to a few things which it has got right before others.
ditch brown, go with brighter colours. orange and or dark grey looks pretty good as long as the orange isn't brownish.
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christopher_lees wrote on the 2 Mar 08 at 12:14
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The widely-circulated Hardy Heron mockup with the milk chocolate brown colour scheme is the best theme I've ever seen. Distinctive, gorgeous, and viewable for long periods of time. We've got to get some people to turn that into a real theme, as close as possible.
If you don't believe that font rendering in Ubuntu is nice, I invite you over to my place to look at it on my correctly-configured 4:3 LCD.
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Adila01 wrote on the 5 Mar 08 at 19:39
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In order to have a much better icon theme. Ubuntu has to not follow the Tango guidelines anymore and adopt something of what the Oxygen team did for their icon set. Tango guidelines needs to be updated for the modern day.
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gabtrat wrote on the 7 Mar 08 at 04:16
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I have to disagree with changing the colors. When I first discovered Ubuntu I found the orange/brownish theme refreshing. It has a kind of African feel that is cool.
I agree, however, that the design could be improved to look better. Compiz Fusion has generated a lot of enthusiasm for linux because it is eye candy - just look at the number of youtube videos and digg articles about it.
Simply adding a 3D-looking background to the panel by default would add a lot.
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what4893 wrote on the 7 Mar 08 at 18:18
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I think for those that want to see a professional looking new theme for Ubuntu, we should setup a ransom. Or setup a donation page of some sort and hire a professional graphic designer to give Ubuntu that amazing look it deserves. I would love if we could get Phil Lu to make something for Ubuntu. After seeing his rendering of a Starbucks ordering form for the iPhone on Gizmodo. You can check it out here: http://gizmodo.com/343686/iphone-starbucks-ordering-screens-look-like-the-real- thing-precede-apple-patent
I think he could bring a breath of fresh air into the whole OS.
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lsdark wrote on the 21 Mar 08 at 06:21
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lot's of people here talking about what is good or bad, so just go to gnome'look and make your own.. don't disturb us with your 'i like' and 'i don't like' cause.. 'we dont care'
ubuntu IS ubuntu ! not mac-win-fedo-drake. Gnome is highly themable so stop crying and go your way.
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neomenlo wrote on the 25 Mar 08 at 23:47
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While the default theme could use improvement, I do not understand why it has to be like OS X.
Imitations can't be better.
I do like the idea of improving it though. The current default leaves something to be desired.
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JhansonJr wrote on the 27 Mar 08 at 23:12
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I don't think he's saying that it has to be just like OSX, just that OSX looks nice, professional, and new, but GNOME looks like Mac OS 9. It looks nice, but slightly outdated. At least the KDE guys changed the look with KDE4. KDE used to look like Windows for Preschoolers.
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Auzy wrote on the 28 May 08 at 13:18
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lsdark, its more then that. First impressions always count.
Apple has proven that. Thats why they hold major conferences on product launches, so that the first thing people get hammered into their heads is "Steve jobs says this is sweet, so it is". Seen it happen a dozen times.
Its why when you install windows, it pops up feature billboards.
And its why when OSX starts up a first time, it has an amazing bootup video which i could show any customer on a 23" screen, and they would be pretty much sold on the spot. That must have cost apple a bucketload of money to design and make (as well as license the music).
And yes, users can install new themes. But, that being said, why not force them to install Xorg or other apps too manually since they can install them too.
Its all because, a user will have already made up 60% of his mind already, on first impressions. If they hounded with stuff they don't like in the first hour, they wont try to get used to it.
I applaud Ubuntu for coming up with a unique theme. Its not easy to do. However, even looking at the brown as the background of ubuntu, how does it actually feel? Somehow, it actually feels depressing or dull. What we really need is something like apple's or vista's scheme that one would associate more "crisp" and "refreshing".
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probono wrote on the 31 May 08 at 12:51
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Again, very true, Auzy.
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tebibyte wrote on the 17 Jun 08 at 23:07
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I'm like the only person who doesn't like the OSX theme. Its pretty and everything, and it has great features, but the UI has a learning curve for newbies. It is not that there are too many steps, but that there is few labels to indicate what the steps are.
For example the minimize, maximize, and close windows symbols are replaced with colors. How is a new user able to know which color means which action? Oh well...It sure is pretty.
Ubuntu is more intuitive than a Mac.
Feel free to make ubuntu as pretty as possible...Just don't get in the way of intuitivity. Say that three times fast! :)
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Blueprint hardy-theme:
