[ubuntu-art] ubuntu-art Digest, Vol 27, Issue 17

[Kenneth Wimer]

Normally you have to be a member of the list to post to the list. I allowed 
this to go through so that nobody thinks I am secretly controlling things :p

...and now a few general comments which are not aimed directly at what you 
have written nor should they be taken personally:

The top of the wiki page explains exactly what was desired. Very few people 
adhered to that. I have no problem with the other posts but you cannot tell 
me that we are being rude or mean or secretive about anything when we state 
exactly what we want and people submit stuff that is completely different. We 
are making the community package so that even those which are completely 
different can be included somehow - what more can one ask for in this 
situation?

There is a page with some decent guidelines to follow. There are pics posted 
along with the statement "this is what we are looking for", there are colors 
available which reflect the wishes of those in place to make a decision.

The artwork was never a democratic process. It has been like that long before 
I started and I have nothing to do with that. The decisions are made by those 
above me in the company, one of them being the person who is paying for all 
of this. In any case, this is a meritocracy, not 
a "two-of-us-complained-on-the-forum-again-and-again-so-now-you-have-to-listen-to-us-ocracy"

The statement that the picture was too dark was totally 100% correct, as was 
the statement that it was too grainy. Hopefully we have fixed these problems. 
If not we will keep working on them until they are fixed. Most of the rest of 
the complaints on the forums are simply personal choice. Note that there are 
lots of positive comments as well. For some reason people just like to take 
notice of complaints more than a simple "I like it"

I would love to see everyone who wants to improve things show up to the 
upcoming meeting and work constructively on moving forward for Hardy. I will 
be posting an agenda once the date is set (probably early tomorrow morning).

--
Ken

On Monday 24 September 2007 21:37:13 higashiki wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Just a few suggestions on the three questions:
>
> 1. What is the problem today?
> There is already a good community around artwork, but there are poor
> efforts to coordinate human resources and a shortage of useful
> documentation. Some people in the forums have already pointed out the
> process isn't really a secret, but it seems so to others because there
> isn't enough publicity and clear docs that explain how the planning, design
> and selection process works. The community is frustrated in part because
> they don't understand why certain a design is chosen (especially if the
> design in question does not chime with their candidates). Some designers
> are frustrated because there is not enough documentation in place that
> spells out what is being asked of them. The result is a lot of wasted
> effort in the "wrong" direction and not very good feelings about the
> designers' roles in the overall process.
>
>
> 2-3. How can we solve it? And execution?
> - More cover material for the community that explains the entire design
> process. Once a design is finalised, a statement that presents the design
> to the rest of the community, answering the most oft-asked questions. E.g.:
> What were the starting aims of the process, and what does the design say
> about Ubuntu?
>
> - Better guidelines and/or kits for designers that includes some very
> elementary but essential items, e.g. a palette (not just a sampling of
> previously accepted colours), or theme components. At the moment there is
> some disagreement over the colours that should be used, whether other
> colours (if any) should be combined with the "palette".
>
> - Contrary to some views, audience and message does matter, because design
> tends towards functional/communicative as it is towards artistic/creative.
> All this work is going towards certain markets or viewers. Who are these
> viewers, and what are they to get from the design? This should be one of
> the starting points in the planning process -- establishing image and
> audience. It might seem irrelevant to a "meta-debate", but it's part of how
> the design process should be approached and, eventually, executed. It's
> also one of the things that gives consistency in the visual experience,
> because everything will be working towards a common goal or trying to say
> the same thing to users. Consistency usually indicates that a good amount
> of thought went behind the entire process, rather than something being
> thrown together because the parts wee at hand.
>
> As for some execution details, the wiki and forum could probably do for
> now. Artists looking for feedback specific to their designs can open up
> separate wiki/forum pages and link to them on the Hardy page next to the
> thumbnails, so that a comments section on the main page will contain
> comments on the general process, while separate sections are available if
> the public wishes to directly contact the artists (e.g. via the artists'
> pages).
>
> In addition to "Forum Ambassadors", any important dates/deadlines should
> also be posted to the wiki -- IRC and the mailing list are fine for the
> design "team", but the rest of the community shouldn't have to root up
> months of archives and transcripts trying to figure out what's happening.
> Having a roadmap up for everyone to see adds to the impression of
> transparency, that the "team" has got itself together and is making
> progress. When someone asks, all the Ambassadors have to do is link people
> up to the proper documentaton and field additional questions. It avoids
> sending mixed messages and confusion.
>
> Overall, the resources are there, but better direction and more
> communication are needed to mobilise them properly.
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Misosaki
>
> > ------------------------------
> >
> > Message: 2
> > Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2007 13:25:11 +0200 (CEST)
> > From: lasse at sosialisme.no
> > Subject: [ubuntu-art] Let one thousand flowers bloom
> > To: ubuntu-art at lists.ubuntu.com
> > Message-ID: <33994.84.208.22.2.1190633111.squirrel at webmail.roedt.no>
> > Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1