[ubuntu-art] Secret Garden Theme (Team?) Ideas [Usplash, GDM ideas]

[Mikkel Kamstrup Erlandsen]

2008/8/14 Who <mailforwho at googlemail.com>:
> Hi all,
> (summary: check out
> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Artwork/Incubator/SecretGarden and give me
> some feedback, if you like :)
>
> I managed to spend a little bit of time thinking about some designs on
> holiday and tonight I've tried quickly mocking some of them up. I am
> under no false illusions - some of this stuff is UGLY at the moment,
> but it is ideas I'm playing with...
>
> First some background: I wanted the theme to make the computer feel
> more real... and I wanted to convey some sense of what is going in
> inside as it boots. To me, it feels like a computer is coming alive...
> So I took that idea and poked around a bit. The work that I've put on
> the wiki is the result of me musing on the ideas of growth. There are
> some drawings from my notebook that I will try and get around to
> putting up later...
>
> The idea is that each subsequent step in the boot process will have
> 'grown' from the previous one...
> Usplash-->GDM-->Lsplash-->Desktop should be transition
>
> So, so far I've just messed about with usplash and GDM. I am not so
> sure about the technical possibilities of my GDM - I'd like some
> suggestions on that. I did a quick lsplash (session-splash) idea but
> tbh I'd really like the session splash to be fullscreen... and
> animated :P...
>
> So, finally, some actual work.
> There is a mock up Usplash
> 4 GDM mockups - which do you like best? Why?
> 1. Lsplash, but see the note on that one
>
> If anyone likes the ideas I'd be really happy for some help working on
> this. You might notice that I have created a 'Incubator' section of
> the Art Team wiki. This is to indicate I see this as a long term thing
> - I don't have the time to push it out for any specific release -
> it'll be done when we do it... etc... I would like to think of it as a
> 'theme team' style project.
>
> If you like the ideas then get drawing, put up some sketches or
> mockups :) At this stage I would suggest anyone contributing to this
> theme do quite quick work not really precise stuff, but because that's
> likely to be a waste of time as the end result might be quite
> different from the ideas on the page right now. I don't want anyone
> feeling like they wasted their time :)

I like the general idea of the computer coming to life. And using the
plant metaphor.

Some comments:

 - Is the intent to have the final artwork in the same simple lines
and color spectrum as the mockups? I can not fully extract your
intentions here...

 - Watch out for a tentacle-like feel...

 - I like the black with the orange bar best. It is somehow more in
line with the standard ubuntu artwork.

 - Second best would be the white with the thin orange bar. Simpler in
composition than my prefered one, but bordering on just way to simple,
but maybe with a bit of subtle details it could shine. The danger in
this one is going to Mac-style.

 - Maybe a synthesis of the two I mention above. Grayish/Cream
gradient as background, thin orange bar...

 - About the technical sides of usplash I suggest you contact Troy (I
am not sure he's on this mailing list anymore). He has done some
pretty interesting thing for Mythbuntu.
-- 
Cheers,
Mikkel