[ubuntu-art] Ubuntu panel background proposal

[Álvaro Medina Ballester]

Hi!!! I'm agree with jmak and Jan, transparent panel makes less readable
everything but, yes, first impression can be cool. But if we put it in Edgy
because it's cool we're going very wrong. Let me explain some short reasons:

1.- First of all, the gnome panel, the 'start' Windows bar, the Finder bar
and the KDE bar are the unique element that always (or almost always)
remains in the desktop. You can open 10 apps, later close 5, open 2 and
finally close all. The panel is always there. It can sound silly but it's
real. The panel is an element that remains fixed and I think that it needs
to transmit the idea that is something solid or something stable. Everything
starts in the panel, you have application launchers, clock, etc. It's a very
important piece of the desktop, why making it look like water or something
flimsy? I think that the idea of making the panel solid (without transparent
looks) can help the user to get a better experience and also enhaces the
importance of a basic piece of gnome.

2.- As Petr told us, we have to keep the contrast between the panel and the
background. How can we do it with a transparent panel?. Making it less
transparent or giving a special texture like GlassPanel proposal. Solutions?
It's difficult but making a good texture that ensures that all the text or
icons are readable could be one. But I find that the greatest solution could
be the less transparent solution. Now I'm looking the GlassPanel and if you
have a dark background you cannot read the clock or the applications menu,
so it should work only for light wallpapers. Again, less transparency is
needed.

3.- This is the last point but is simillar to 1st one. Now I'm reading some
pdf's and I want to read it fullscreen. Now imagine envice (or Nautilus or
another application), fullscreen view, and gtk and metacity look is solid or
not transparent but the panel is transparent or GlassPanel for example.
First of all, if we are trying to integrate the panel and the human theme
this is not the solution, is completely opposite. If the panel is
transparent, the window border sould be transparent even so the workspace of
the app would be the main element of the desktop, not the panel as it should
be. That was the last one, the significance of the panel would be decreased
with the transparent look.

4.- As Jan and others told, transparent looks make less readable everything.

So, I think that the solution is give the panel a similar look to the
gtk/metacity or compiz theme (of course not transparent). Yes, transparent
is cool, but I'm sure that you will get tired of it in few days. It's cool
but not as useful as not transparent look. Also my proposal is make the
panel look solid or metal according to the 1st point I've explained before.

So I would like to apologize because my english is quite bad and explaining
this impressions is difficult for me. Sorry, I'm trying to improve!!! If you
don't understand something please let me know!!!

Sincerely, Álvaro.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-art/attachments/20060910/4011cdfe/attachment.htm