[ubuntu-art] Canonical's approach to Jaunty

[John Baer]

On Tue, 2008-11-04 at 12:00 +0000, Bharat Varma wrote:
>
> Neil Patel posted some flickr mockups of a possible Ubuntu desktop
> about an
> year ago, using an engine called 'Avant', which was based off the
> Murrine
> build at the time. I am not sure if this progressed any further  from
> those
> mockups. The thread on Ubuntu Forums is
> http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=603348
> 
> I think there was also a discussion on this list at the time.
> 
> Is this the same Neil who was hired by Canonical as a designer ? If
> so, do
> the mockups here possibly point the sort of direction Canonical is
> looking
> at for Jaunty ?
> 
> Just wanted to put it out there :)
> 
> Bharat Varma

Now that Intrepid is out I've been thinking about Jaunty theming. I
realize now I need to start early as "Human Synergy" was very late.

In a discussion of theming the topic of theme engines often takes center
state but I am not convinced the current theme engines are really a
limitation to creating good themes.

For example look at "Dust". This is a top rated theme IMO and is served
well by the current engines.

IMO the secret to a "killer" look is up-stream. I would site two
applications which would make a big difference.

1. Nautilus - Nautilus is core to Gnome and its appearance and
functionality is significant to how Ubuntu is perceived. I noted some
"brain storm" mock ups which showed Nautilus with a new look that goes
beyond theming.

2. Rhythmbox - I like Rhythmbox but IMO its due for a face lift. The
music player which ships as default is also significant to how the
Ubuntu is perceived.

There are other applications others may note and I realize many folks
will add and delete to their system to suite their personal needs but
many run with those shipped as default.

Instead of writing a new theme engine I suggest helping key default
applications in their appearance may be the solution to moving the Gnome
desktop in the right direction.

Just thinking out loud :)

John Baer