[ubuntu-art] Theme Update

[Ken Vermette]

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 <nemes.sorin at gmail.com> 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 at lists.ubuntu.com
> https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-art
>
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