Design Mockups (Updates Designer only)

[godlyranchdressing]

With a dark headerbar and light window contents, a transparent #353535 leads to too “noticeable” background elements so I decided to use #252525 for everything again.

Desktop_V9Dec17 - Dash and panel shadow. Ubuntu logo replaces launcher. Panel button font size is very slightly reduced and a font-weight of 450 is used.

Maximized_Window_V9Dec17 - Dash becomes opaque. Panel shadow disappears. With both the headerbar and panel being the same color it’s difficult to give the illusion of the panel appearing over the dock.

Popover_V9Dec17 - Replace the underline effect (I know the activities button’s underline not lining up with the dash can cause anxiety) with a lighter background color and a very slight box-shadow. Suru arrows replace the old calendar arrows. Popover menus use #181818 (Jet) with the same alpha value as the panel/headerbar (.95).

Shell focus states_V9Dec17 - Replaced the orange used in the active/pressed state with a light gray color (it’s actually the text color transparentized a little). The volume slider’s button can’t have a 3px radius to match the GTK one, unfortunately.

[luxamman]

Can’t wait to test it

Desktop_V9Dec17

Quick notes to the mockups:
Shadows and inner shadows are too strong and wide, also I’m very unsure about the logo. Maybe white only and not sure if the thought behind it is right. I did try the logo on the top panel instead of the arrow but also unsure because how the button works…
The font seems good, also the Popover looks good, I just don’t like the borders too much on the buttons and in the menu layers under the text (Shell focus states gif).
Maximized window was also a big point for me because it should (for me) not melt together with the top panel. That was also the reason why I kept the shadow and in the new mockups, I tried a lighter grey for the windows to have a better visual separation.
I also was using the blue color for testing from the Suru theme, but I changed it back to orange because it just doesn’t fit somehow…

–

New thoughts, new mockups:
Because the last version was way too dark I took a step back and thought “How can we modernize Ubuntu without losing the typical feel and look while having a system that works for millions of people?” That is a big responsibility. And it’s a little more conservative, unfortunately. So dark theme comes later.

The main thought was, that the dark/gray is good for a background/frame, but at the same time, the icons must have a surrounding to hold a certain contrast that does not make one’s eyes tired over time. So instead of dark, I was working now with light layers.

Yes, it does look like a modernized version of Ubuntu. And more conservative. But the eyes can find everything fast.

Maximized windows separate from the top, the colors are maybe not perfect and the little Ubuntu logo as a test in the right corner.

And at last, I was testing the Suru elements:

They look neat and nice and they fit the design, only the blue that they used just does not work for me and don’t fit to the rest of the system (and is more like Gnome^^). I want them to work on dark and light background, so they have sometimes a little shadow or a certain grey - but this is not finished yet.

[godlyranchdressing]

Shadows and inner shadows are too strong and wide

I’ll adjust. I was actually trying to channel Unity 7 which also had a very prominent panel shadow (that disappeared when a window was maximized). How about the following?

box-shadow: 0 4px 8px rgba(0,0,0,0.75);

The dash has the same values, just with inset appended.

I made the top panel darker (#181818) and the headerbar lighter (#303030. I think anything above that would require an opaque headerbar).

Echoing your worries on too much contrast, I experimented with some different colors taken from this image.

I just don’t like the borders too much on the buttons and in the menu layers under the text

What’s wrong with the borders? Are they too light/too dark? Also, I think that the show apps icon is the only reasonable place to have the Ubuntu logo. Anywhere else and we should just not include it at all.

The different widgets look fantastic! Though the sidebar border is still too thick for my taste.

[godlyranchdressing]

It looks pretty slick.

Though this is a little awkward, I think.

[luxamman]

How about the following?

Already looks better, I was using a 0 2px 5px with 0.50 opaque, because on light wallpapers it was too present.
And I would like to have an opaque top panel (was using 0.80 with 37,35,35) and not too dark like Gnome. So the wallpaper shines a little thru which is nice and on dark wallpapers the panel does not just disappear in black. But maybe even 37,35,35 could be too dark, needs more testing.

Echoing your worries on too much contrast, I experimented with some different colors taken from this image

What’s wrong with the borders?

The color combinations work for me, nice and clean! On your reference picture you can also find the buttons I prefer, I try to get rid of the borders around buttons to fit the overall design and work with layers and shadows instead.

In the case of the breadcrumbs, it’s getting too dark and the background layer of “Working” will melt together with the background on cheap monitors. Like said on the dark background we have to use light layers to separate and hold the contrast. If it is not working at all, I would try a middle/light grey for the border or a soft shadow if possible.

Also, I think that the show apps icon is the only reasonable place to have the Ubuntu logo.

I already know that they discussed the Ubuntu logo instead of the “Activities” text, but they said that this not a good idea because of the official documentation and Ubuntu/Gnome help documents/website. I’m also not sure how it will look and feel… did you try to include it next to the right corner icons instead of the on/off and arrow icons?

And what about the widgets and elements: do you build them or can I build them and send it to you to try them?

Thanks, good feeling to make progress here

[godlyranchdressing]

And I would like to have an opaque top panel (was using 0.80 with 37,35,35) and not too dark like Gnome. So the wallpaper shines a little thru which is nice and on dark wallpapers the panel does not just disappear in black. But maybe even 37,35,35 could be too dark, needs more testing.

I like the darker panel more. The idea behind a plain black panel for Adwaita is that it blends into the monitor’s bezels. The top panel should be something thats fades into the background when you’re not interacting with it. I don’t think it needs too much highlighting.

In the following mockups, I removed the panel shadow since it made the titlebar of maximized programs look too blurry and replaced it with a black border ( which is more obvious depending on the wallpaper or when a window is maximized). I kept the panel at #181818 with an alpha value of .95. The dash is the same color but the alpha value is 0.90 instead.

When a window is maximized the dash stays the same and the panel becomes opaque. You can see the black border separating the headerbar from the panel. I used a box-shadow here as a border would make the panel 1px taller.

I try to get rid of the borders around buttons to fit the overall design and work with layers and shadows instead.

I find that without the borders and with a lower contrast background (your example here uses a much lighter background color) that the button blends into the background too much. The buttons also look much darker than in your example. I’ll play around with a lighter color because while I do get your worries about too high contrast I also don’t want things to look dingy.

In the case of the breadcrumbs, it’s getting too dark and the background layer of “Working” will melt together with the background on cheap monitors. Like said on the dark background we have to use light layers to separate and hold the contrast. If it is not working at all, I would try a middle/light grey for the border or a soft shadow if possible.

Good point.

did you try to include it next to the right corner icons instead of the on/off and arrow icons?

The top right corner only shows system and app indicators, there’s no way to insert the Ubuntu logo there. In contrast to the wifi, bluetooth and other indicators it’ll just be a passive icon, too. It won’t be best place to put it.

[madsrh]

A few days ago I did this mockup but didn’t have time to post it. I guess some of the elements that have been discussed in this thread by @godlyranchdressing and @luxamman havn’t been taken into consideration.

+1 for a darker theme (dark headerbar but light window content) like Ambiance which add to the “this looks like Ubuntu” feeling.

I know the breadcrumb-thing isn’t working out

I really like Aarons work on Desktop_V9Dec17

Desktop_11Dec17

And some comments:

[luxamman]

hey @madsrh

just a quick respond from me about the mockup:

• I know exactly what you mean with the thickness of the icons, but I have to say the work in a real system much better than in the mockups (guess the better rendering). If they are too thin in some places, I thought we take the Suru icons and just make them a little thicker - so they still fit the rest of the design.
• The window controls are using way too much space for my taste. The idea with the space around to have a bigger click space is good, but making them a square is not only taking too much space in the width but also looking too much out of space for me.
• Well, the round corners on the bottom is not bothering me too much, if it is possible without having to adjust every single app, it’s fine with me!
• Good point about the shadows on unfocused windows, I would give it a try!
• Heavy toggles - yeah, the ones used at the moment are big. I have the Suru toggles in three different sizes in the mockups, maybe we can use the mid and min size only.

Stefan

[madsrh]

• I know exactly what you mean with the thickness of the icons, but I have to say the work in a real system much better than in the mockups (guess the better rendering). If they are too thin in some places, I thought we take the Suru icons and just make them a little thicker - so they still fit the rest of the design.

+1 Right, I would prefer the Suru style too.

• The window controls are using way too much space for my taste. The idea with the space around to have a bigger click space is good, but making them a square is not only taking too much space in the width but also looking too much out of space for me.

Using too much space? There’s plenty of space to take Anyway, I think the Ambiance buttons are too close. There’s nothing more annoying than hitting the close button when you were aming for the max button. I’ve been checking out the competition too and M$ uses a 3:2 aspect ratio. Also check @merlijn-sebrechts comment below:

Mockups/new design discussions

I’d also like to draw your attention about the UX of the max/min/close buttons. The issue with ambiance is that the click area is wayy to small, making it hard to hit it. You don’t notice this until you’ve used Adwaita or other OS’s for a while.

One of the ways to solve this is with a theme like Nautilus_V22Nov17_A - higher contrast

Design Mockups (Updates Designer only)

Here, you can make the entire area around the X clickable, not just a small circle. If the user clicks in the upper right corner of the window, the window will close, even if he doesn’t click right on the x. The size of the click area should be made clear when the mouse hovers over it, however.

• Heavy toggles - yeah, the ones used at the moment are big. I have the Suru toggles in three different sizes in the mockups, maybe we can use the mid and min size only.

I did a poor job explaining myself there - it’s not the actual size, but how they feel. The lever doesn’t have to fill half the button (looks less bulky) and by giving the toggle a border it’s easier to distinguish it from the background. In the image below the white lever bleends into the light gray background.

[luxamman]

Using too much space? There’s plenty of space to take Anyway, I think the Ambiance buttons are too close.

Yes, that is true, in Ambiance they are too close. It’s just in the mockup they look too space consuming, like for touchscreens or people who can’t handle the mouse just jocking^^
I like the idea of making them little bigger or give them more space but just not overdo it, it will look less elegant too. Ubuntu uses the space next to them, Windows is not. So if necessary, we should rather orient to macOS.

Maybe when we loosen things up a little by getting rid of the min/max frame it will look better? I have them in the new mockup for the buttons as well.

I tried some more buttons, but still, I like the soft shadow behind the elements best for separating them from the back. The switches have more shadow too, to separate better on white. Also, I shrunk down the switches to stay in the frame of the switch-element to see how it can look. The elements are always exactly the same, the shadow and borders just visually disappear on the dark background. But the white background is more important now:

[c-lobrano]

While I like a lot the dark palette for the headerbars, I wonder if it is not too much when the window is maximized. I mean, we would have a big chunk of black made by the topbar, headerbars (that are thick) and the dock.

(I made a little mistake pushing my changes to the main repository instead of to my fork, sorry about that).

[godlyranchdressing]

The shadows behind the buttons look great!

While I like a lot the dark palette for the headerbars, I wonder if it is not too much when the window is maximized. I mean, we would have a big chunk of black made by the topbar, headerbars (that are thick) and the dock.

Yeah, it’s just this wall of darkness. I’m using #373735 for the headerbar and leaving the Shell stuff at #181818 and it’s not as egregious. I’ll test out some different shades for the headerbar (but will lower the transparency)

[merlijn-sebrechts]

PS: we can add a custom logo to the “communitheme” team in launchpad. If anyone cooks something up, let me know.

[c-lobrano]

What about using different colors for vertical (dock) and horizontal (topbar, headerbar) widgets instead? This week I’ll try to catch up with you all and test directly on .scss/css files.

[godlyranchdressing]

#313130 for the headerbar. #181818 for everything else.

[c-lobrano]

The last days I was experimenting with headerbar’s colors and button shapes.
It seemed a bit odd to me that having headerbar’s buttons all squared except the three ones “close, minimize and maximize”, and the close button always colored was a bit distracting, so I tried the following:

• headerbar color is #444444 (and the top bar as well). It seems to me a warmer color and easier to work with adding shadows to other elements in it.
• all buttons in headerbar are rounded square
• all buttons in headerbar get a lighter color when selected, instead of a darker one
• close, minimize, maximize are a bit more spaced { margin: 0 2px; padding: 2px; }
• close button gets colored only if selected

[godlyranchdressing]

My only problem with that grey is that it looks more like Android than Ubuntu. I think we can solve some of the problems with using a dark headerbar before lightening it. I’ve been playing with colors closer to Ambiance’s brown while adjusting the look of the buttons themselves. I also scrapped the transparency.

#383634

#3E3E3A (Ambiance color with transparency, but the buttons start to look too bright)

[c-lobrano]

My only problem with that grey is that it looks more like Android than Ubuntu. I think we can solve some of the problems with using a dark headerbar before lightening it

I guess you’re right, but we can make it more brown-ish. In general, I think that we need to find a color that could fit the topbar as well.

What do you think about styling the close button only when in hover state?

[karlos]

Hi @luxamman and @madsrh

I’m Karl, Visual designer working at Canonical.

This week myself and fellow visual designers are having a Ubuntu theme refresh workshop to work through the design takes @willcooke posted a few weeks ago here: https://github.com/CanonicalLtd/desktop-design/issues

Are you both on GitHub? If so could you send me your handle please?

Thanks

[luxamman]

Hello karlos,

should be Luxamman and madsrh

Thanks!