What the Next Theme for Ubuntu Should (and Should Not) Be
Anytime the theme or artwork of Ubuntu is discussed, the discussion seems to turn automatically to brown vs. other colors. I don’t see brown as being the problem, though, so let me explain what I would like to see in future Ubuntu themes.
- A new theme does not need to be green or blue. There is nothing wrong with brown. In fact, I think it is a great idea to use a unique color for branding purposes. If you saw or green or blue billboard on the side of the road, but you couldn’t read what it said, what would think of? What if that billboard was brown? The point is, Ubuntu’s brown color is very distinctive.
- A new theme does need to have some new color introduced. Even if brown is a good idea, it would be great to see either a new shade of brown or a secondary color to complement the brown. This would be a nice change and also possibly make some people like the theme color better.
- A new theme does need to be unique and distinctive. I think this is obvious, but a cool abstract heron is way better than a swirl.
- A new theme should be chosen in a clear, simple way and generally liked by most people.
To many of you this may seem like an obvious list, but I think it is important to clarify what I mean when I refer to Ubuntu’s themes.
November 16th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
I do believe the lord and master of Ubuntu wants Ubuntu to challenge the Mac in terms of the visual experience. No one is going to mistake the crap brown alleged “artwork” for something visually appealing.
The first thing I do after installing Ubuntu is get rid of the crap brown crap and install a Mac theme, Mac icons and Mac wallpaper. Then I have a functional operating system that is pleasing to look at.
November 17th, 2008 at 12:47 am
Ubuntu uses a theme of browns as a symbol of African and probably human skin and that of other animals as well. I don’t think Mark Shuttleworth ever intents to divert from that theme, as it has become part of what Ubuntu is known for and it’s “brand recognition” so to speak. Plus, yeah, you can always change it to anything else, and you can roll your own distro using whatever software *you* prefer to have installed by default, but yes I am in agreement with you, I’d like to see some more eye candy spice in future versions too.
November 17th, 2008 at 12:53 am
Makes you wonder if Shuttleworth just fancies brown in all things. Why else would it stay that way version after version?
November 17th, 2008 at 1:02 am
Mikey I suppose you disable you right-mouse button and delete the /usr/src directory too
November 17th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
I personally really like the brown colour. The new wallpaper for Ibex shows best what it’s going for I think and every iteration of the human theme is a little closer to brilliant.
I think if you’ve ever seen the red brown earth, the sandy rough bush, the walls of a mud hut all in very bright sunlight that somehow misses being harsh, then you probably have what they are aiming for. When you have that kind of brown a lick of green seems sumptuous and bold red and blue paints seem to hover.
I think that’s what they are going for and when they get there everyone will love brown.