Call for participation: an ubuntu default theme lead by the community?

Arguably something like this would be the most conservative change… leave the file manager as-is (i.e., monochrome) but add a matching Circle of Friends:

subtle CoF file manager

…or maybe the logo needs to be darker to stand out more:

subtle CoF file manager 2

?

1 Like

That one with classic Ubuntu colors is my fav. for now :smiley:

1 Like

I would remove the circle :slight_smile:

1 Like

I had a go at refining the Ubuntu colours one and making it a bit more “Suru”:

ubuntu colours file manager refined

EDIT: hmm, think I prefer the original! - ah, the colours have gone a bit naff where I’ve uploaded it, that’s why.

1 Like

:+1: …Bla bla bla… ( 20 chracters you’ve got :wink: )

Okay, I’m still plugging away. The original with Ubuntu colours was slightly too “flat” IMO. This version is built using elements that are already part of the Suru iconography, so hopefully it blends slightly better with the other icons. Possibly still some work to do on the tone because it feels a bit “washed out” IMO.

jazzy

Too jazzy?

I would say the colors of the original and the icon borders of that last one …

Yep, you might be right :slight_smile: I will try to do that.

Before I saw your reply I did this one, which is the last one but with a) better definition around the folder and b) better vertical alignment on the Ubuntu logo:

jazzy more defined

…which I like, but I’ll also try your suggestion to fuse the colours from the first attempt with the highlights etc. from the latest version.

Also, given that the whole idea was slightly controversial in the first place, be interesting to see what the others think!

Is this right?

jazzy more defined more vibrant

EDIT: Hmm, colours went a bit naff again. Not sure why the quality seems variable for uploads.

I understand this might be subjective and I personally don’t expect that putting a logo on someone else’s work (might it have a clear brand or not already) would be gladly accepted :slight_smile:

However there might be a different way. I would like to have a logo along with “Activity” label (with the proper code to manage it’s position). This might be the GNOME’s foot on Vanilla, The circle of friends on Ubuntu and so on. This would be like GNOME devs give the space to add some personalization with that specific meaning

1 Like

Better but not quit yet…somehow the first one still the best…

image

image

1 Like

You’re right it’s subjective :slight_smile: and I think this is where we see it differently… I don’t see it as putting a logo on someone else’s work.

If the launcher had a shortcut to the Ubuntu web pages, it would be perfectly natural for the icon to be an Ubuntu logo. When you click the icon, the page will actually load in Firefox. That doesn’t mean you’re putting an Ubuntu logo on Mozilla’s work… it just means the icon’s focus is on the thing to be loaded, rather than the app it will load in.

My idea for the file manager icon is to put a symbol (the Circle of Friends) on the folder, to give a sense of where you’ll be taken when you click it.

When you’re actually using Nautilus, some of the folder icons already have symbols on them, like the home folder:

home folder with ubuntu

If you were working on a new theme for “Dollhouse Linux”, this would be a good opportunity to smuggle in a bit of your distro branding :stuck_out_tongue: because the logo for “Dollhouse” would probably be a stylised house. So, you could have the Dollhouse logo on the home folder icon, and again on the Nautilus icon, because clicking Nautilus opens the home folder.

But really, it’s just convention to use a house for the home folder. There’s no reason why you couldn’t use a Circle of Friends for the same purpose, if you wanted that symbolism in your theme:

home folder with ubuntu 2

In that case, it would be intuitive and reasonable if the Nautilus icon included a miniature representation of the home folder, complete with the Circle of Friends, because that’s the folder that opens when you click on Nautilus.

So I don’t see a problem with an app icon including a Circle of Friends per se, as long as there’s a rationale for it. EDIT: It would be especially reasonable for the Nautilus icon to include an orange folder with a white Circle of Friends if the home folder looked like that in the app itself - as above :slight_smile:

EDIT #2: Although, @c-lobrano, I do like your idea of including an activities logo in Gnome itself, so different distros can include a logo there - without worrying about the alignment/spacing problem :slight_smile:

2 Likes

I would like to address some issues raised by having a branding logo on an app.
What if I unpin Files? Every time I open Files there will an Ubuntu logo somewhere between my opened apps.
What if I change the icon pack? The branding is gone.
Some other options I would like to suggest.

  1. A wide Ubuntu logo on top will no “Activities” text. For example Arc theme is not showing “Activities” text, it shows two dots instead.
  2. Add an “Activities” button on Ubuntu dock. It will be on top and the “grid” button that opens Apps to the end.
    The “Activities” text that also opens Activities could be replaced with no text, dots or even better with “Ubuntu” text.
  3. No logo at all, just replace “Activities” text with “Ubuntu” text.
2 Likes

Actually, I think I’m right in saying that @didrocks is opposed to putting a Circle of Friends in a system app icon (based on the “likes” above). So, I think the writing’s on the wall for that idea :slight_smile:

In that case, here’s one more attempt to propose something that everyone will be happy with.

Is it possible to have an icon that links to a particular section of Settings?

I don’t think it would be controversial to have an icon at the top of the launcher that looks like this, as per my original mockup:

…if it took you specifically to the settings for the Ubuntu Dock:

dock settings

Using an Ubuntu logo would be fair, in this case, because the dock is part of Ubuntu rather than vanilla Gnome. And it’s also intuitive, because it makes sense to click the top of the dock to see and change the dock’s own settings. It will probably be helpful for new users when they try clicking the Ubuntu logo and see that they can auto-hide the dock, move it, and resize the icons too.

Any takers? :slight_smile:

1 Like

It goes to our first idea and I prefer the Help …

See that ? blue icon question mark … Not so bad if we loose it and get Ubuntu logo instead :

wdyt?

2 Likes

Unfortunately, I already suggested and mocked up number 1, however, it cannot be used because upstream wants us to keep the Activities text. Search my profile or the thread for pill, if you came find it I’m sure someone would be kind enough to repost the mock-up for you.

1 Like

I do hope we aren’t changing the app grid into the logo again. It just looked very out of place.

I agree with this. Contrary to what @jaggers to assumed that the generic names in GNOME apps is a sign that they accept branding, we had the opposite conversation at GUADEC, as most of them would prefer to have their own branded icon and not have an icon theme per say.

In that context, you are even pushing it a little bit further and I’m afraid that will be badly received by upstream.

If the Activities issue was just due to the alignement, I think we can cook a small patch to add it next to it, without having to rely on the css (only in the ubuntu session). /!\ this would be then for cosmic only, we can’t SRU that for bionic.

3 Likes

@mozit

I could certainly live with Circle of Friends = Help.

It’s not my personal #1 choice because the Suru help icon is already nice and colourful, and it seems a shame to lose it off the default launcher (in terms of eye impact on new users). Also, I find it hard to escape the feeling that established users will think it isn’t for them, and feel slightly silly keeping it at the top of the launcher just so they can see a Circle of Friends where it always used to be :slight_smile:

How about a link to community.ubuntu.com? Not everyone will want to visit the official forums, but it could be a nice way to promote them, and it means we don’t have to replace the (IMO very nice!) existing icon for Help.

Default launcher then looks like this (same apps as current, if my memory serves me correctly, with Firefox moved to the bottom because it isn’t Suru):

new default launcher

I think that actually makes a superb first impression on the eyes! The existing blue Help icon looks great, and you also have a prominent link to the Ubuntu Community pages. It’s good to actively promote the official forums to new users, and (more than Help IMO) established users are likely to remain interested in them. Also note that I’ve kept the small CoF next to “Activities”, because, if that can be patched as per @didrocks’s suggestion, that means we can have a more subtle bit of Ubuntu branding in the shell that will survive the removal of an icon from the launcher.

Pros:

  • A small Circle of Friends will always be in the shell in the same place, regardless of how the launcher is configured;
  • A prominent Circle of Friends in brand colours will appear at the top of the launcher on fresh install, which users can move or remove;
  • We keep the lovely blue Help icon, to boost the number of first party Suru icons in Communitheme;
  • Keeping the Help icon boosts the number of lovely Suru icons on the launcher by default;
  • We promote the Community forums to new users by having a shortcut to them on the launcher by default;
  • We make existing users more likely to remember the Community forums because there’s a web app for them, and they’re likely to leave it on the launcher because they like having the logo :slight_smile:

I actually think that’s a really nice solution with something for everyone!

2 Likes

The issue with the community forum is that it’s english speaker only. Most of our user base aren’t native, and it’s hard to know how many don’t talk English at all or want to engage in that languages. Loco Team, like the french one have their own non official forum, and that’s how it starts to be a complex issue :wink:

However, I love your resilience and the fact you keep digging into the issue! Thanks for doing that and keep it up, we’ll find a way to please all angles, I’m sure of it :slight_smile:

1 Like