[ubuntu-art] Ubuntu Powder

[Matthew Nuzum]

On Tue, Mar 31, 2009 at 2:25 PM, Thorsten Wilms <t_w_ at freenet.de> wrote:
> How do desktops customised by women look like? Are there recurring
> themes?
> Are there common characteristics women look for in desktop appearance?
> Are there common complaints, perceived shortcomings of common offerings?
> Do the findings here suggest that the target group can and should be
> more specific?
>
> What is the state of cognitive psychology, neurology, gender studies
> regarding this issue?
>
> What information is there on cultural differences?
>
> What is done in other fields to speak to women? Design language?
> We're talking about colors, shapes, textures, motives.
>

I will never understand women, I will not even try. But here's what I know...

When I want to research colours that will be popular I visit sites
like this http://www.fashiontrendsetter.com/content/color_trends.html
that are on the edge of fashion. I can find pictures of fashion shows,
the latest clothing lines and grab pantone swatches for fabrics that
are being released.

There are clear trends and they make their way throughout the western
world. Men and women are buying similar fashions and colours in Paris,
New York, Oslo and Montreal. So yes, there are cultural differences
between countries, but somehow the textile industry seems to do OK.

So I think that is where I'll focus first. Once I have some colours to
work with then we can look at shapes and textures. I *think* this is
the best way. I'll put in a human clearlooks screenshot to see how it
fares when compared against the others.

There's no way I can do this on my own. I can create mock-ups and test
users but when it comes to the artwork I'm not qualified. But getting
started is half the battle so I'll see if I can do that.

Regarding women's customized desktops, my wife and mother have both
customized theirs. I suspect that just as many women customize their
desktop as men. As a matter of fact, the ladies in the office I used
to work at knew all the tricks for getting past the lock-down on the
desktops so that they could change their wallpaper and colours.

This makes me reminisce about the days of the "Helix" (later "Ximian")
desktop. Upon first login it presented you with a wizard to customize
your desktop. I wonder why this concept went away.

-- 
Matthew Nuzum
newz2000 on freenode, skype, linkedin, identi.ca and twitter