Ubuntu theme proposal: Dust.

“Dust:” proposed theme for Ubuntu (Intrepid Ibex). Click for full size.

I am an avid Ubuntu Linux user.

I love the OS and how it has an entire community working hard to make it better all throughout: from it’s inner workings, to the applications, to it’s user experience. However, in the aesthetics department, here are a few things I noticed in it’s development:

• Artists make far-fetched concepts which would require too much work to implement. Why make new icons when we have a comprehensive set made by the Tango project?

• Too much copying of other OS’s happens. We all love the OSX-inspired dock (I use AWN myself), but there’s no need to make it the default.

• Some concepts require too much of an overhaul of the system. Why do we need to make things that require, for example, an entirely new GTK engine?

• …And lastly, there are not enough good talents contributing to the development of the OS.

My proposed theme

Here’s my proposal to address the aesthetics problem. This is a small concept I’m working on, codenamed Dust. Here’s why I think this is a good idea:

• They’re baby steps. This, I think, can be implemented without too much extra work.

• No custom software. It uses the Aurora GTK engine which sports a very polished look. Also, it’s made with the Tango iconset in mind.

• It’s neutral. The window decorations are not orange or brown — they’re predominantly dark gray. This is good so that when you’re viewing images or working on visual things, the colors of the decorations don’t influence your perception of the content. I think this is a strong point of OSX. Let the wallpaper define the look, not the window controls.

• It uses the default two-panel configuration of GNOME. Not only is it proven functional, but people have been used to this and it would be awful to break their expectations.

Granted, this is a very quick work-in-progress shot (gotta get rid of that Vista-ish gloss), but my point is just that I’m just trying to put my foot forward and try to give a push to the development of new concepts. I hope this inspires someone.

If you like this theme, you can air out your comments here:
Dust Theme on wiki.ubuntu.com

For comparison, you can see the current state of Ubuntu 8.10’s theme at Phorolinux.