Modify Colors
Why the Artwork Refresh in Karmic Koala is Important
One of the major goals of Ubuntu Karmic Koala outlined in Mark Shuttleworth’s recent announcement is a new look for Ubuntu, something that has been requested a lot. Not everyone, though, thinks this should be a priority. A WorksWithU article voices the concern that there are more pressing issues for Ubuntu than giving it a new look.
It’s a fair point. There are and will always be pressing issues to deal with, but I would argue that artwork and a fresh look are actually a very important issue for two reasons:
At Some Point, You Have to Just Give In
For a long time I have defended Ubuntu’s choice of color scheme, pointing out that it gives a unique look, yet the barrage of complaints keep coming. Though this would not be true of all things, when it comes to something as subjective as artwork, eventually you have to just give in and change it.
A Fresh Look Makes Your Software Feel New
Of course there is an additional benefit to fixing something users like to complain about: they will talk about it and check it out in swarms once you fix it. Add this to people’s natural tendency to check out anything new and shiny, and just changing the theme will get you tons of great PR.
Though it seems a little silly from a purely logical standpoint, introducing a new theme could actually be quite helpful to Ubuntu’s image and appeal to new users and long-time Ubuntu fans alike.
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“I think Shuttleworth’s bow to popular pressure here is an incredible show of weakness and gives me pause about Ubuntu’s future.”
In the opposite case we would probably hear that “the fact that Shuttleworth hasn’t changed the much criticized artwork in Ubuntu shows, that it really isn’t a community distribution, which doesn’t say anything good about Ubuntu’s future”.
I’m wouldn’t be so concerned with an artistic reboot if everything the new art team didn’t (a) completely dispense with Ubuntu’s stylistic heritage and (b) produced something that wasn’t absolute and irredeemable shit. Their recent output is generic, and worse, it’s hideous. Look at the “realistic” Breathe icon set. Look at the new login screen.
The current Ubuntu artistic cycle started off with pure brown Warty, but it’s aged into something quite pleasant, and really took flight with Hardy. I think Shuttleworth’s bow to popular pressure here is an incredible show of weakness and gives me pause about Ubuntu’s future.
gnome needs a new look, but i believe this time they should make kubuntu a priority.
this time KDE4 has surpassed all expectations. Kde usage could actually beat gnome usage this year alone.
we have a real competitor here in looks and features, lets take advantage of that.