Following our recent post regarding Ubuntu’s identity overhaul. It seems as though the masses are rejoicing at the ‘dropping of the brown’. For years Ubuntu held a Unique, and often contested, colour space, as no other distribution ever has made so much use of the colour brown. However it is evident from the masses of forum and blog posts that the general Ubuntu user does not appreciate the brown default interface presented by Ubuntu.

The new Ubuntu branding and theming is with out a doubt in tune with the original Ubuntu idea to remain unique in terms of design. The mantra around the new design, as punted by the Self-Appointed Benevolent Dictator for Life; Mark Shuttleworth, is light. This is the first major graphical revamp the Ubuntu operating system has received in its five years of life.

The idea of a major visual refresh in Ubuntu is nothing unexpected, as it was supposed to take place back in 2008 with the long term release of Ubuntu 8.04. The original refresh was to introduce a darker them with bright orange highlights. However that concept was abandoned probably due to concerns that dark default themes should generally be avoided. The new branding is a complete opposite of what was proposed back then, as the new branding is all about light.

The new look of Ubuntu is causing a stir of excitement on the internet is it clear that Ubuntu users and fans seem to be relieved that the much debated brown is to become an aesthetic of Ubuntu’s past

This refresh is in line with Shuttleworths efforts to make Linux beatiful, as he has on many occasions stated that Apple is a revered system for its design excellence, and though Linux might be an incredibly functional system it does lack the aesthetic edge

“I think the great task ahead of us over the next two years is to lift the experience of the Linux desktop from something that is stable and robust and not so pretty, to something which is art. Not emulate, but blow right past Apple in the user experience we deliver to our end users,” says Shuttleworth.

Ubuntu has in recent versions made great strides in terms of usability, most notable with its Software store and notification system, it however has lagged behind with quality  theming. The upcoming version of Ubuntu, stated to be released on the 28th of April this year, will with out a doubt impress as unlike any other release it has managed to generate quite a buzz and will include major updates to many parts of the system.

Tags: Concept, Customization, Design, Desktop, Gnome, GPL, GUI, Linux, Open Source, Operating System, Software, Technology, Ubuntu

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 at 18:35 and is filed under Software. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.