Re: Look and Feel

[Lars Sonchocky-Helldorf]

Am Montag, 14.02.05 um 07:50 Uhr schrieb Jesse Ross:

> > > I'm thinking of what a user first sees when they launch a GNUstep 
> > > based environment, be it Backbone or Etoile, or Garma  or the LiveCD 
> > > or what-have-you.
> >
> > But you see, Jesse, you're making it more simple than it actually is. 
> > Etoile can have a different /default/ theme than the one that ships 
> > with the GNUstep-GUI source package itself. So your statement doesn't 
> > make much sense in light of that. I fully expect Etoile to do this, 
> > as a matter of fact. You really should be concentrating your efforts 
> > here, IMHO.
>
> Maybe a better way to look at it is this, it might explain my dilemma 
> better:
>
> GNUstep is a toolkit. A toolkit doesn't necessarily imply an interface.
>
> I'm a designer. I want to help the project using my set of skills.
>
> However, I can't design an interface for a toolkit. Luckily, desktops 
> using GNUstep have adopted the interface of NeXTSTEP. I say to myself 
> (and a few Slashdotters say it too when the LiveCD announcement is 
> made), "man, that thing looks like it was designed in the 80s". So I 
> figure I can help with that.
>
> The icon project seems like a good start, and it seems to be happening 
> throughout GNUstep proper. I had been working on designs for an 
> interface I wanted to create, the GNUstep interface seemed lacking, so 
> I made some tweaks and posted it. Since icon handling seems to be 
> something that is happening throughout the entire project, I thought 
> the windowing interface would follow the same pattern.
>
> The windowing interface seems to be a different beast, though, with 
> people wanting a cleaner separation of it and the toolkit, than was 
> the situation with the icons.
>
> Maybe I'm crazy and made some assumptions I shouldn't have. Sorry if I 
> offended anyone.

I am very happy that finally some skilled designer is "on board" the 
GNUstep project. And I think you didn't really offend anybody (besides 
the usually offended people ;-)). Keep up your good work!

> I want to help design icons, and I want to help design a really nice 
> theme that a bunch of people adopt and like. Maybe I can even provide 
> some ideas into additions to the new Dock.app and Wmaker.app, if the 
> developers want my feedback. I'll also try to help with promotional 
> materials where I can.

I think we should appreciate a look from a non technical position on 
GNUstep. Finally there should be non technical end users for the 
applications we create. And this is what makes a good interface: hide 
technically complexities from the end user.

> I had hoped to help deliver a GNUstep-based OS, branded with the 
> GNUstep name and logo, with a default interface that I helped design 
> and with some of my own icons, and then have people say, "Wow, this 
> looks really nice, I think I'll try it out". That was what I wanted to 
> contribute to the project, but maybe it makes more sense to help out 
> one of the individual desktop initiatives instead.

No, please stay here and keep reminding us that not everybody is a 
technician/programmer.

>

Lars

> J.

P.S.:

Note to our selfes: I know we are strong personalities with own 
opinions (like: "only the NeXT look is the sacred one" ;-)). But if an 
opinion is your opinion it doesn't make it anymore right than others 
and if somebody opposes your opinion it doesn't make your opinion 
wrong. So try avoid fighting each other on opinions but try to find a 
solution where everybody benefits from. Remember our motto: "... we 
find a technically superior work-around" (from: 
http://www.gnustep.org/information/mission.html

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