[ubuntu-art] Quick Update

[Mark Shuttleworth]

Michiel Sikma wrote:
> I don't think it's just my opinion that differs. As I've mentioned
> before, I've got valid criticism for the Human icon set. I simply
> believe it to be inferior to Tangerine/Tango for various reasons.
Michiel, Human is incomplete. It's your choice as to whether or not you
want to help make it complete and consistent, or whether you would
rather put time into Tangerine, or Outdoors, or one of the other themes.
I don't mind where you choose to spend your time. I think it would be a
great contribution to Ubuntu if you help make Tangerine stunningly
beautiful. If it's good enough, Tangerine will ship in Edgy, and people
can select it and appreciate your work.

Please understand that it is not your sole say what the default theme
for Ubuntu will be. Nor is it a democratic decision on this list. It is
for the moment my decision, and in time I hope to delegate that to a
dedicated art director and an art team. But first that team has to prove
that it can make good plans, harness resources, and execute its plans,
meeting a deadline.

We spent quite a bit of time in Paris sketching out what that structure
would look like, and there is plenty of space for people to work on
Human, Tangerine, Outdoors, etc.

> I also don't see why you simply say "guidelines are great, but we make
> exceptions". I don't see why you can just admit that some of the icons
> in the Human set are inconsistent.
They are inconsistent purely because we have not had time to complete
the set. The current set was produced in a rush during Dapper, I plan to
continue to invest in the Human icon set and to work with a growing team
of community volunteers to turn it into a fantastic and consistent set
of icons. I think you have a great eye for consistency and clarity and
would welcome your participation. You can help identify inconsistencies
and provide icons which follow the style of Human but improve on the
consistency. But if you are dead set on using Tangerine, the please
simply focus your efforts there and stop talking-down Human. Make a
positive contribution somewhere, not a negative contribution.

> To me, it sounds like you're just saying "it's been decided, you don't
> have any say in it, let's smother this discussion". I disagree with
> such an attitude.
You have plenty of say, but you have spent it. Now it's time for work :-)

So, choose where you will WORK. Either you can help on Human, or
Tangerine, or another theme.


> Don't get me wrong, though. I don't think that the Human icon set is
> bad by any standard, but I simply feel that a more open process would
> enable us to get rid of such things. It's imperative that
> inconsistency is taken care of in any case.
I agree. Consistency is important - and Human needs to be more
consistent. You can help with that.

Human is not fundamentally closed, but in order to work with an outside
artist we needed a specific process during Dapper. I am happy to take
additional contributions to Human from people with a good eye, who can
follow the lead of the chief artist there.

> This doesn't take away that most of the icons in the system should
> just come from Tangerine/Tango, as the Tango icon set is likely to be
> the style of icons for _all_ default application icons in the future.
I think there is plenty of room for Ubuntu to establish a style of its
own. I think Tango has been over-rated because it attempts to bind Gnome
and KDE together in a way that they do not want to be bound together. I
may well be wrong, which is why I don't discourage you from investing
your time and energy in Tangerine, but I am confident in my opinion,
which is why I'm investing my own time and energy this way.


> It will most definitely become very popular, and I don't think it is a
> good idea for Ubuntu to say no to that style because "we want it to be
> a little different".
Distinctiveness is ESSENTIAL. I'm afraid I won't budge on that point.
Tango will NEVER be the default theme for Ubuntu because it is entirely
un-distinctive.

> I don't see why. The Tangerine/Tango set already exists, is more
> complete, has more people working on it, has a more open design
> process, also makes Ubuntu ready for the future concerning design
> consistency. Just because some people felt it was necessary to say no
> to it for Dapper doesn't mean it shouldn't be possible to re-evaluate
> it for Edgy.
Read the above. You are welcome to make Tangerine good enough to be
included in Edgy.

> Human isn't more complete than Tangerine/Tango. Sure, it's the
> custom-made icon theme for the distro, and that's a great thing, but I
> don't believe that this is valid rationale, concerning the criticism
> that I've given.
I appreciate where you are coming from. I have heard you, but the
decision is that Human will be the default for Edgy. I would encourage
you to continue to improve Tangerine so that it is there as an option
for the people who prefer it.

Folks, this team has been spending an awful lot of time and energy with
little direction. I'm giving you a clear set of guidelines as to how you
can actually make a difference to the artwork in Ubuntu:

 * help make Human rock, because it will be the default for Edgy and
changes will be backported to Dapper too
 * work on one of the other themes if you prefer, we will decide later
which themes actually ship in Edgy based on their *distinctiveness*,
*quality* and *completeness*.
 * help with the overall organisation and structure of the art processes
in the wiki and lists

Sending in "here's a cool picture that is totally different to anything
that has been seen before" mails does not in any way help. The art
council will lead us through a clear artistic definition process for the
different themes, establishing what their highlights and selling points
will be. Once that is done, then you can help by selecting one of those
themes, joining the team working on it, and quietly helping to shape it
into an awesome, consistent, complete theme.

If this team is going to be a proper part of Ubuntu then it needs to be
professional. Go through a professional process, pick a direction,
deliver the goods.

Mark
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