elementary-dev-community team mailing list archive

[Craig <weberc2@xxxxxxxxx>]

Chrome just swapped out their wrench for the Android-esque 3-line symbol,
as previously mentioned. The wrench was an iconic part of Chrome as they
pioneered the minimalistic browser interface (now each of the major
browsers has a similar feature in a similar location). And Chrome has been
exposed to a much larger percentage of their potential userbase than
Elementary.

Anyway, Elementary has seen a single release (Jupiter), which has hardly
defined Elementary in my opinion. Elementary's identity is only in the
beginning of its formation, and I think now is exactly the time to be
making large changes (before its identity settles concretely in the minds
of its users). If we agree a change is positive, let's not let branding
stand in the way of a good user experience (I would rather Elementary's
identity be tied to a positive and ever-improving user experience than a
particular symbol or other static configuration).

Furthermore, *minimalism is* "generic" and "lacking in personality" in
contrast to many design styles; however, elementary stands out because it
is minimalist and its personality is heralded by its subtlety. In addition
to the 3 lines being the broader standard for such a UX feature, it also
has the advantage of being more subtle, which seems to mesh with
Elementary's design DNA.

Just my $0.02

>
> On Sun, Sep 30, 2012 at 3:59 PM, Keith Adair <kjzz12@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>> I think we'd be taking a major risk in changing that icon. To me, that
>> cog has grown to be an iconic symbol of the elementary project, along with
>> the two iterations of the "e" logo. It signifies simplification; that this
>> program is so simple that it only requires on simple sub menu for options.
>> A "lines" logo to me seems generic, and lacking in personality. The cog IS
>> elementary, and has been since the meager days of elementary-nautilus. It
>> seems to me that I would rather miss the little cog in exchange for a
>> generic icon.
>>  On Sep 30, 2012 1:34 PM, "Craig" <weberc2@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>> I agree, Sam. I think this also highlights the importance of clearly
>>> defining the intentional function for various UI components. Perhaps it
>>> would be useful to separate out the various pieces of functionality into an
>>> "overflow" component and a "settings" component (or separate out the
>>> functionality differently).
>>>
>>> On Sun, Sep 30, 2012 at 3:19 PM, Sam Tate <s@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Greetings,
>>>>
>>>> I think it's useful to get a discussion going every now and then about
>>>> certain UX paradigms, no matter how small (we're all about attention to
>>>> detail, right?)
>>>>
>>>> I really don't like the AppMenu icon. The concept is great - Android
>>>> uses something very similar in the overflow menu, and other operating
>>>> systems probably do too. It's a fantastic way to hide less commonly used
>>>> buttons to stop the toolbar getting too cluttered. However, the cog icon
>>>> doesn't make any sense to me. It sends the message of
>>>> "Settings/Preferences" to the user, and this is *not *the only thing
>>>> that the AppMenu is for. It houses About pages, functions (e.g. "Rescan
>>>> music folder") and more.
>>>>
>>>> It would make more sense to change the icon to something similar to
>>>> Chrome's "3 line" icon (http://i.imgur.com/ryKKG.png) which conveys
>>>> the message much better.
>>>>
>>>> We should ideally try to do this before Luna, since the AppMenu is such
>>>> a core part of the OS, and we don't want to alienate the flocks of new Luna
>>>> users in L+1 by changing it then ;)
>>>>
>>>> Thoughts?
>>>>
>>>> Sam Tate
>>>>
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>>>>
>>>
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>>>
>