Re: freshened metacity theme

Well that is a lot of good criticism, so to take it piece by piece...

For now, please focus on the metacity theme as I am not working on wallpapers/gtk themes/panel in earnest. (Maybe later?)

In terms of usability, I think the metacity theme should achieve a couple of different things:

1. The window that is focused must be apparent.
2. The window frames should be visible for users that are not familiar with hidden frames that allow resizing.
3. The buttons and their actions should be easy to spot and easy to understand.
4. The theme should be consistent with the rest of the UI.

I very much agree with your comment about the size of the buttons. I am a little hesitant to modify their color towards an Ubuntu brown as it will make them harder to spot quickly--but perhaps their color is something that can be explored a bit more.

As for the clean simplicity of mist--I would agree with your suggestions if it were to be expected that the gtk theme and other UI elements would also tone down their beveling, gradients, and other flare. But as it is, having a minimalist WM theme will not jive well with a more visually complex UI.

As for attempting a radical departure from Breezy or other UIs--this is an interesting idea but I think requires the assent of the community. I believe a conservative and reasonable goal is to produce a theme that seems familiar to current users but cleaned up or touched up. A more ambitious goal is to do a total rehaul of the UI, something that does not seem like a reasonable Dapper goal. One aspect of usability that I think is important is recognizing what conventional features of a UI most people expect. And in this sense, computer users in general expect and are not confused by beveled edges, window borders, and the triad of buttons. So maybe it would be a good idea to start looking at larger changes for the release after Dapper.

Ok, I've said a lot. I hope to get some of the suggestions about the buttons implemented tonight and I'll have that up soon. And many thanks for the feedback : )


yh

On 2/2/06, Sandis Neilands <sandisn@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hello!

On 2/1/06, Young Hahn <youngjin.hahn@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Feedback would be appreciated.

I don't know if this is very stylish now, but I don't like this "fat
borders, huge colour gradients, pseudo 3d" style. Your intention to
create clean theme is great, however I don't think that clearlooks2
qualifies as 'clean'. Also don't try to make something breezy-like.
Aim for " ...something completely different" (better!). Just ensure,
that breezy's theme is always available for those, who doesn't like
the new one.

OK, few ideas then.

* The wallpaper is beautiful - it's light, it's colourful, it's
inviting and most importantly, it's not boring. Go to the
shots.osdir.com and compare (k)ubuntu's wallpapers to ones included in
other oses. Breezy looks boring (and so does SimplyMepis for that
matter). One small issue though. Either you have to make it darker or
default fonts should be dark enough to be readable.

* As for metacity you should continue in the style of your wallpaper -
thick borders, no (or at least less) gradients. I think the pattern
you are using is unnecessary - too much detail can be heavy on eyes.
I'm using mist on my breezy box. Of course, you could argue that it's
too simple, but it's really clean and easy on eyes. Also metacity
theme should contrast with wallpaper a bit more.

* Min. max and X buttons could be wider. Easier targets and perhaps it
would improve look of the so-standard "3 squares on the right" look.

* Tango doesn't go well with your theme. It should be modified to be
less colourful. Modified suede would be much more appropriate.

* Almost every other os I have tried uses gray controls. Why? Isn't
there enough other colours to choose from?

* Some experimentation with transparent panels wouldn't hurt too.

I'm sorry if i'm too harsh here and there. And where can we download
your wallpaper?
--
Sandis