[ubuntu-art] Whats Up with This?

[Julian Oliver]

..on or around Tue, Jul 01, 2008 at 12:44:54PM -0400 Christina Eater wrote: 
> Hey, list. I'm new, and chiming in for the first time here because,
> well, I felt challenged to. I'm not particularly technical--my
> background is in art--and I don't know the first thing about making a
> theme besides having tweaked my login screen a bit, but I do know a
> little about color theory and typography and design, and I'd like to
> help. Is this the right place for me? I note:
> 
> On Mon, Jun 30, 2008 at 4:42 AM, Julian Oliver <julian at selectparks.net> wrote:
> >
> > i really do think Mark needs to consult someone with provable
> > understanding in colour-theory and design to ensure the next release
> > actually looks good. it would seem no-one that can actually make a theme
> > is near enough to someone that understands this stuff to pull off a good
> > result for Ubuntu.
> >
> > i suggested it a couple of years ago on this list: in the absence of
> > actual designers, perhaps a graphic design school could 'audit' the
> > default theme as part of a class project, coming up with a few mockups
> > within the scope of what's doable in GTK? at the least we could give
> > them existing screenshots and have them manipulate the colour field
> > until better results are found..
> >
> 
> which certainly suggests an "absence of designers" on the list
> (possible a niche I could help fill); but also
> 
> On Mon, Jun 30, 2008 at 7:53 AM, Nick Russell
> <thatnickrussell at googlemail.com> wrote:
> >
> > What I'm getting at I suppose is that
> > whilst obviously there will be technical/accessibility issues which are best
> > reported on launchpad, there will also be more abstract/vague
> > art-critic/audience-critic responses which would be best place somewhere
> > else (forums/wiki/individuals blogs)?
> >
> 
> which seems to be saying that some on this list don't want "art
> critic" responses here. Is there another place a creative,
> non-technical person can be of help?

well it's certainly great that you wrote in. i think we need more of
your skills right here; here is a great place to start helping.

while i'm far from an authority on where efforts should be spent right
now, i i'd suggest that some constructive, educated criticism of the
theme that's currently shipping with the Ubuntu 8.10 (intrepid) Alpha
would be useful for us all. 

what would you do to improve it, if at all?
what are it's strengths and weaknesses, if any?

cheers,

-- 
julian oliver
http://julianoliver.com
http://selectparks.net
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