Re: [ubuntu-art] Theme Update
julian wrote: i also do not believe in the brown; it seems to offend too many to justify investment as a basis for design. given that a brown-based theme is unnegotiable it is hardly worth debating here however. It's a bit of a quandary isn't it? I do believe you can do a nice brown theme - my problem with most of them is that the brown overpowers everything. It's why I've got so much whitespace as a balance. a 'hue-wheel' however might be just the medicine for the great number of Ubuntu users that dislike brown on their desktop. based on a few tests with Gimp i think Ken's Union theme and this theme would well in this regard: http://mossblaser.deviantart.com/art/Ubuntu-8-04-GUI-Design-Idea-7257460 cheers, I definately think this would be a good idea. It's pretty trivial to change the theme to be identical but with a different hue. I made a blue version in about 5 minutes. Providing 6 or so colour presets might be a good solution to the problem so if they really do hate the brown, they can change the colour without having to find their own theme. -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] Theme Update
Ken Vermette wrote: I like the way you've used the brown and made it feel very light. Also, the way elements will use two tones of brown is very appealing. The first impression when I look at the theme though, is that it's looking at what else looks good - and patches all these looks together. In the end, individually all the pieces look good on their own, but the theme itself looks a like patchwork. Yeah, I tend to do something that looks good but doesn't work. Needs a step back to realise that it needs to get the chop. Candycain is gone now as is button gloss, textured title bar (I liked it but it didn't fit really). What the theme really needs (in my personal opinion) is some basic or structure to go by, more consistency. For example, something like the outlines. Here's the different styles I've counted in the lines alone: - 2px, dark brown (Active Window) - 1px, dark brown (Inactive Window) - 1px black (Panels) - 1px light brown (Dropdown, inner content-box) - 1px gray (panel inactive window) You have gray, black, several shades of brown... The outlines could technically work - but there's no real pattern to it. There's two drop downs and while everything else is identical about them, they have 2 styles of outline... It's just what looks best for each individual element. Try making some sort of pattern or structure for it like you had before, for example, heres some possible rules: You do have a point in some of the cases - I've redone it with an eye to balancing out the colours. I kinda discarded the palette and went with what looked good as finding browns that would work are a nightmare. I actually liked the 2px border on the active window, but too many people hated it for it to keep :( The subwindow dropdown has to have a lighter colour than the main system menu or it overpowers everything. The inactive panel window is just the main window at 80% opacity and without the darkening on the controls - it should be identical apart from that. I've done an update - at the usual place. Sorry to hear about your laptop too :( -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] Theme Update
..on Sat, Jan 05, 2008 at 02:15:29AM +0200, Nemes Ioan Sorin wrote: julian wrote: ..on Fri, Jan 04, 2008 at 10:25:18PM +0100, sylvain marc wrote: Good theme this is a clean and eye-pleasing direction. comments: i think the shading on the buttons is a bit too much, perhaps so much so that it's hard to differentiate between a button-pressed and a button-normal. could they not be 'flatter'? this may make them look like they're more a part of the canvas than the stuff the window title is made of.. i find the diagonal pattern in the scrollbar troughs a bit too much, perhaps even dominating the scroll-handle itself. taking the trough colour back to a simple dark gradiant might be enough. that panel gradiant is good: just enough to give them form. the window title text is well resolved too i think: it sits out with the same depth those buttons are in relief. choice of typeface is great.. i think the contrast is better in the v1.5 than v1.6. i'd be keen to see v1.5 with squarer buttons and a few of the above suggestions implemented.. cheers, Sorry Julian, you say this is a clean and eye-pleasing direction ...but is not really ;). really. From a functional perspective those scrollbars is not what is supposed to be regarding UI Usability. First functionality, then the candy - that's the rule in Design. Scrollbars must mark visually that there in place, the content overflow over recipient margins and it's height/width should suggest an approximative difference between how much information are hidden and how much is visible. Scrollbar must be enough distinctive place and should not distract the look focus from content. In our case we have here an interesting hypnotic effect created by the scroll-track bar. Moving the scrollbar over the scroll-track - this hypnotic effect is amplified. So I see here some problems - theme is nice and clean - but scrollbar design denote one fact - the author is not yet very clear on it's knowledge, on it's power. Yet.No problem - time and experience will help here. But the scrollbar is not usable as is now. as you'll read in my comments, i also say the scrollbars need some work. the buttons have problems too. nonetheless, i agree with Ken here, the theme is a good start and well worth /encouraging/.. Other elements are OK (excluding colors of course - but is not his choice I understand that). i also do not believe in the brown; it seems to offend too many to justify investment as a basis for design. given that a brown-based theme is unnegotiable it is hardly worth debating here however. a 'hue-wheel' however might be just the medicine for the great number of Ubuntu users that dislike brown on their desktop. based on a few tests with Gimp i think Ken's Union theme and this theme would well in this regard: http://mossblaser.deviantart.com/art/Ubuntu-8-04-GUI-Design-Idea-7257460 cheers, -- julian oliver http://julianoliver.com http://selectparks.net -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] Theme Update
Good theme 2008/1/4, Andrew Laignel [EMAIL PROTECTED]: I've done a bit of tweaking on my theme based on the feedback I have recieved so far and added some bits. Just so you know - details on the wiki. Comments would be appreciated as usual! https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Artwork/Incoming/Hardy/Alternate/Kerberos -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] Theme Update
..on Fri, Jan 04, 2008 at 10:25:18PM +0100, sylvain marc wrote: Good theme this is a clean and eye-pleasing direction. comments: i think the shading on the buttons is a bit too much, perhaps so much so that it's hard to differentiate between a button-pressed and a button-normal. could they not be 'flatter'? this may make them look like they're more a part of the canvas than the stuff the window title is made of.. i find the diagonal pattern in the scrollbar troughs a bit too much, perhaps even dominating the scroll-handle itself. taking the trough colour back to a simple dark gradiant might be enough. that panel gradiant is good: just enough to give them form. the window title text is well resolved too i think: it sits out with the same depth those buttons are in relief. choice of typeface is great.. i think the contrast is better in the v1.5 than v1.6. i'd be keen to see v1.5 with squarer buttons and a few of the above suggestions implemented.. cheers, -- julian oliver http://julianoliver.com http://selectparks.net 2008/1/4, Andrew Laignel [EMAIL PROTECTED]: I've done a bit of tweaking on my theme based on the feedback I have recieved so far and added some bits. Just so you know - details on the wiki. Comments would be appreciated as usual! https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Artwork/Incoming/Hardy/Alternate/Kerberos -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] Theme Update
julian wrote: ..on Fri, Jan 04, 2008 at 10:25:18PM +0100, sylvain marc wrote: Good theme this is a clean and eye-pleasing direction. comments: i think the shading on the buttons is a bit too much, perhaps so much so that it's hard to differentiate between a button-pressed and a button-normal. could they not be 'flatter'? this may make them look like they're more a part of the canvas than the stuff the window title is made of.. i find the diagonal pattern in the scrollbar troughs a bit too much, perhaps even dominating the scroll-handle itself. taking the trough colour back to a simple dark gradiant might be enough. that panel gradiant is good: just enough to give them form. the window title text is well resolved too i think: it sits out with the same depth those buttons are in relief. choice of typeface is great.. i think the contrast is better in the v1.5 than v1.6. i'd be keen to see v1.5 with squarer buttons and a few of the above suggestions implemented.. cheers, Sorry Julian, you say this is a clean and eye-pleasing direction ...but is not really ;). really. From a functional perspective those scrollbars is not what is supposed to be regarding UI Usability. First functionality, then the candy - that's the rule in Design. Scrollbars must mark visually that there in place, the content overflow over recipient margins and it's height/width should suggest an approximative difference between how much information are hidden and how much is visible. Scrollbar must be enough distinctive place and should not distract the look focus from content. In our case we have here an interesting hypnotic effect created by the scroll-track bar. Moving the scrollbar over the scroll-track - this hypnotic effect is amplified. So I see here some problems - theme is nice and clean - but scrollbar design denote one fact - the author is not yet very clear on it's knowledge, on it's power. Yet.No problem - time and experience will help here. But the scrollbar is not usable as is now. Other elements are OK (excluding colors of course - but is not his choice I understand that). SorinN -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
Re: [ubuntu-art] Theme Update
I like the way you've used the brown and made it feel very light. Also, the way elements will use two tones of brown is very appealing. The first impression when I look at the theme though, is that it's looking at what else looks good - and patches all these looks together. In the end, individually all the pieces look good on their own, but the theme itself looks a like patchwork. What the theme really needs (in my personal opinion) is some basic or structure to go by, more consistency. For example, something like the outlines. Here's the different styles I've counted in the lines alone: - 2px, dark brown (Active Window) - 1px, dark brown (Inactive Window) - 1px black (Panels) - 1px light brown (Dropdown, inner content-box) - 1px gray (panel inactive window) You have gray, black, several shades of brown... The outlines could technically work - but there's no real pattern to it. There's two drop downs and while everything else is identical about them, they have 2 styles of outline... It's just what looks best for each individual element. Try making some sort of pattern or structure for it like you had before, for example, heres some possible rules: - active windows widgets, dark brown. - inactive windows widgets, light gray. - windows, 2px. - all other elements, 1px. Your first scrollbars shared that same semitransparent look as the origional dropdown, but now the scrollbars look like inactive parts in an active window. Buttons are glossy but the window title is textured. Every element is rounded to a different degree. When you start defining what things should look like on a global level, elements may not look -as- good on an individual basis, but overall it would look much better. In a nutshell, my advice would be to use jot down some basic rules on outlines, fills, textures, colours, how rounded corners should be, where and what direction gradients should look like, etc. Then comb over your theme, and unify the look feel. The first incarnation of your theme was much more consistent across all the elements, and as a whole my opinion is that it looked better. The theme is good though, and it's got huge potential. Keep up the good work! -- -Ken Vermette On Jan 4, 2008 7:15 PM, Nemes Ioan Sorin [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: julian wrote: ..on Fri, Jan 04, 2008 at 10:25:18PM +0100, sylvain marc wrote: Good theme this is a clean and eye-pleasing direction. comments: i think the shading on the buttons is a bit too much, perhaps so much so that it's hard to differentiate between a button-pressed and a button-normal. could they not be 'flatter'? this may make them look like they're more a part of the canvas than the stuff the window title is made of.. i find the diagonal pattern in the scrollbar troughs a bit too much, perhaps even dominating the scroll-handle itself. taking the trough colour back to a simple dark gradiant might be enough. that panel gradiant is good: just enough to give them form. the window title text is well resolved too i think: it sits out with the same depth those buttons are in relief. choice of typeface is great.. i think the contrast is better in the v1.5 than v1.6. i'd be keen to see v1.5 with squarer buttons and a few of the above suggestions implemented.. cheers, Sorry Julian, you say this is a clean and eye-pleasing direction ...but is not really ;). really. From a functional perspective those scrollbars is not what is supposed to be regarding UI Usability. First functionality, then the candy - that's the rule in Design. Scrollbars must mark visually that there in place, the content overflow over recipient margins and it's height/width should suggest an approximative difference between how much information are hidden and how much is visible. Scrollbar must be enough distinctive place and should not distract the look focus from content. In our case we have here an interesting hypnotic effect created by the scroll-track bar. Moving the scrollbar over the scroll-track - this hypnotic effect is amplified. So I see here some problems - theme is nice and clean - but scrollbar design denote one fact - the author is not yet very clear on it's knowledge, on it's power. Yet.No problem - time and experience will help here. But the scrollbar is not usable as is now. Other elements are OK (excluding colors of course - but is not his choice I understand that). SorinN -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art -- ubuntu-art mailing list ubuntu-art@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
