On 15 January 2012 22:18, Tiago Marques <tiagomnm@gmail.com> wrote:
On Sun, Jan 15, 2012 at 7:13 PM, /dev/ammo42 <mickeytintincolle@yahoo.fr> wrote:
On Sat, 14 Jan 2012 23:08:17 -0500
Calvin Morrison <mutantturkey@gmail.com> wrote:

> Hello Everyone,
>
> For a while I have been pondering the cosmetic and artwork related
> changes we should try and work on for R14. Unlike most projects, we
> are rather nostalgic, so going flat out new won't work for us. A new
> default theme or such is not advisable. Users won't like it. I think
> we should instead focus on creating an improved R14 style. A theme
> consists of: Backgrounds, Color Schemes, Fonts, Icons, Window
> Decorations, Widget Styles, and Screensavers. These don't need
> drastic revision, instead they need careful changes to help reflect
> our goals. Speed simplicity and customization are my top priorities.
>
> What do we need to improve? My vote is this
>
> 1) New backgrounds - Our defaults are out of date and I don't really
> like them, Every new release should see some fresh artwork. Users can
> keep the old one if the prefer it. These need to be pleasant to view
> and also look modern. (not to glossy though).
>
> 2) Improved Window Decorations - I am not a fan of plastic. I am a
> fan of the KDE2 window decoration. Either way we should set about
> making sure the default on is in tip top shape and has max
> configuration. Should we keep plastic as our default deco?
>
> 3) Icons - I think we are OK with these. Some icons may need to be
> looked over in our crystal svg set. I want to maximize visual
> efficiency of our icons. Some may be unclear or hard to see at
> different sizes. This should be lo
I think Crystal Project icons
(http://www.everaldo.com/crystal/?action=preview) could be a good theme
to add. It is designed by Everaldo Coehlo (as is Crystal SVG) and I
think of it as an improved Crystal SVG, without the cartoonish/XPish
look of the latter.

These are quite bad for desktop use, IMHO. Crystal SVG is cartoonish but it's icons have a low amount of detail, which are nice at all sizes and readable, symbolic in a way. Just look at the home and Firefox icons in Crystal Project: way too much bling causes too much "visual noise" in someting that sould be merely symbolic of it's function.

Best regards,
Tiago

I concur.

I think a focus should be on improving and simplifying the icons. I find certain icons to already be to visually distracting. Simple clear icons should be everywhere. Even knetworkmanager for example. The Icons are not bad for it,  but they have an annoying gloss which makes it more difficult to see. Also while connecting a smaller "sub" icon appears within the regular icon. very hard to see. it would be better to have the whole icon showing that it is connecting.

This is just one example I can think of. Basically I want to push clarity over everything else.

Calvin