[ubuntu-art] art concept

[Matthew Nuzum]

On Mon, Aug 4, 2008 at 12:51 AM,  <skunkrecords at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi guys. I'm new here, but I just wanted to share a great concept that I
> found for ubuntu.
> First of all, this design got the front page on Digg, so it's really a great
> concept. you can check it out at
> http://willwill100.deviantart.com/art/Interpid-Ibex-Mockup-Part-2-93584910.
> I hope the art team can find some inspiration from this design. I know I
> did!

There are two problems with this and one other issue I'd like to point out:

 * This design contains revolutionary concepts that will be tricky to
implement, though maybe it will inspire people to help work towards
them. The first item is the flat icons.
 * I'm concerned about the usability of the bright menus - in my
testing I've found that it's a challenge refocusing your eyes from a
very dark item to a light item or vice versa. This results in a loss
of productivity because you move slower because it takes a moment for
your eyes to refocus. Maybe there are productivity gains that offset
this - I'd like to see more user testing.

And my concern is that some of the exciting things about this theme
are not the theme. Imagine how popular a theme screenshot would be if
it included in the image a portion of a top secret email between Steve
Jobs and Steve Balmer. It would make it to the top of digg, slashdot
and the new york times - however that doesn't mean the theme should
become the default for Ubuntu.

That said, I love the wallpaper and the flat theme/icons.


-- 
Matthew Nuzum
newz2000 on freenode