Posted on March 3, 2010 - by jono
Refreshing The Ubuntu Brand
The new style of Ubuntu is driven by the theme “Light”. We’ve developed a comprehensive set of visual guidelines and treatments that reflect that style, and are updating key assets like the logo accordingly. The new theme takes effect in 10.04 LTS and will define our look and feel for several years.
Ubuntu has seen a tremendous amount of growth and change since it was conceived in 2004. Back then it was a small project with strong ambitions and a handful of developers passionate about delivering a world class Linux Operating System that can compete on every level with Microsoft and Apple. We adopted a style based on the tagline “Linux for Human Beings”, and called it “Human”. Six years on we have made incredible progress. Ubuntu is a global phenomenon: we have carved out a pervasive culture of quality and design, thoughtful usability and great technology all fused together in a project that maintains the same commitment to community and collaborative development that we embraced back in 2004.
In 2009, a small team lead by Mark Shuttleworth, conducted a review of our key brand values and identity. Based on that work, a set of visual treatments were produced, and shared with key members of the Ubuntu Art community, spanning the core distributions, derivatives, and aligned efforts like the Forums. Representatives from Ubuntu, Kubuntu, Edubuntu, Xubuntu, Mythbuntu, SpreadUbuntu and more came to London and worked with the Canonical design team to refine the designs and work together. The results of that work are presented here.
This collection of community representatives worked with the design team and created some great work. Some examples:
In addition to this we also worked with our key governance boards: the Community Council, Technical Board, Forums Council, LoCo Council and others around this work to ensure that our community can use it to it’s best advantage.
Brand Values
The key values we believe are reflected in the Ubuntu project are:
Precision. We ship high quality software, and we ship it exactly on schedule. Our Debian heritage means that the individual components of our platform are tightly defined and neatly arranged. There is no excess, no fat, and no waste in Ubuntu. We are a community that thrives on delivery.
Reliability. We are building Ubuntu for serious use. Whether it is being deployed on the desktop or in the cloud, we care that Ubuntu is secure, reliable and predictable. We deliver updates to Ubuntu that are rigorously tested. When we make a mistake, we learn from it and put in place good processes to ensure that it does not happen again.
Collaboration. Ubuntu is the result of collaborative work between thousands of people, and it is both the beneficiary and the public face of the collaborative work of tens of thousands of free software developers who build individual upstream components, or aggregate them in Debian. We go to great lengths to ensure that anybody, anywhere, who is passionate about Ubuntu and competent to participate, can do so. We enable virtual participation in our physical Ubuntu Developer Summits, we use mailing lists and IRC in preference to over-the-cubicle-wall communications, and we welcome contributions from both companies and individuals. Our governance bodies reflect the diversity of that participation, and leadership or permissions are based on proven merit, not corporate employment.
Freedom. We strive to deliver the very best free software platform. Our highest mission is to accelerate the adoption and spread of free software, to make it the de facto standard way that people build and consume software. We celebrate the work of other groups committed to collaborative content development, and open content licensing. While we are pragmatic about this (we ship proprietary drivers when we believe they are a requirement to get free software working well on PC’s) we expressly do not include any proprietary applications in the default installation of Ubuntu. We want people to love and appreciate free software, and even though we work to make sure that Ubuntu is compatible with, certified with and iteroperable with popular proprietary software, we do so to facilitate the adoption of free alternatives to proprietary solutions.
While the branding has changed, the freedoms and rights have not: our global community will still maintain access to the resources needed to construct logos that use the branding. We will be providing the new font, images, colour specs, and a set of recommendations for creating branding for websites, t-shirts and the other needs of our community. As before we will protect the integrity of the Ubuntu brand with the Ubuntu Trademark Policy.
Light: Ubuntu is Lightware
The new style in Ubuntu is inspired by the idea of “Light”.
We’re drawn to Light because it denotes both warmth and clarity, and intrigued by the idea that “light” is a good value in software. Good software is “light” in the sense that it uses your resources efficiently, runs quickly, and can easily be reshaped as needed. Ubuntu represents a break with the bloatware of proprietary operating systems and an opportunity to delight to those who use computers for work and play. More and more of our communications are powered by light, and in future, our processing power will depend on our ability to work with light, too.
Visually, light is beautiful, light is ethereal, light brings clarity and comfort.
Historical perspective: From 2004-2010, the theme in Ubuntu was “Human”. Our tagline was “Linux for Human Beings” and we used a palette reflective of the full range of humanity. Our focus as a project was bringing Linux from the data center into the lives of our friends and global family.
Go and see the full details of the brand refresh here, with more images.
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March 12, 2010
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Hello friends, this is perhaps the most radical update to the linux world so far, it’s refreshing to experience the texture, color, velvety, a luxury for the senses. interface very similar to Mac OSX. see you soon.
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March 13, 2010
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Seems like the windows controls are in the wrong place, or at least not correctly ordered. Hope this won’t be the default theme as that would be annoying.
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March 20, 2010
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I am fearing so.
Ubuntu = Mac OSX wannabe.
Go Debian or LinuxMint.
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March 15, 2010
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Erm, is this supposed to be a good change? Going to the apple direction is not a good one, imo. Ugly and unintuitive.
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March 16, 2010
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Purple and black? Yuck!
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March 17, 2010
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Dude, this announcement reads like Osama Bin Laden’s call to destroy America or something.
Are Linux people really that religious and do they really believe what they write?
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March 21, 2010
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What a horrible mishmash of colors. Isn’t it obvious that if you are going for an aubergine eggplant color for the background (which is basically a fine choice) then most of the other highlights should also be variations of aubergine as well?
Hello, color/colour 101 calling.
I don’t get it, how can a whole bunch of smart and talented people get something as basic as “color matching” so wrong.
Or is that the problem, too many cooks…
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April 9, 2010
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“Isn’t it obvious that if you are going for an aubergine eggplant color for the background then most of the other highlights should also be variations of aubergine as well?”
Umm… no. It is common to choose two base colors to complement each other. It’s a reasonable alternative to a more monochromatic color scheme. You don’t have to like Canonical’s specific choices, but the basic idea valid.
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April 5, 2010
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Come on guys! Open your minds. I think this is a great work. Congratulations!
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April 8, 2010
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Hello,
I like Ubuntu but I’m beginning to be a little wary.
What was wrong with the former font?
What’s the point in aping Apple’s colors (as people claim)?
And above all, what’s the point of emphasizing Lightness while the OS is nolonger light at all?
Since Hardy I’ve had to hunt after light distros. Even Xubuntu is too heavy for older computers.
However, if you mean Ubuntu is lighter than M$ or Apple, this is still true, of course. Thank GNU/Linux for that.
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April 8, 2010
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different strokes for different folks. personally, i’m looking forward to getting my sticky mitts on it. ubuntu is the perfect os for me. whether firtling or working. A big thank you to everybody involved with producing ubuntu.
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April 18, 2010
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I agree. Ubuntu is formidable. The already excellent external themes are quite refreshing. The original is indeed sad but it’s a matter of taste …
A huge thanks for me as well, to everybody involved in Ubuntu
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April 20, 2010
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I hate Apple. Every Linux dood hates it.
I like the menu bar, but the close/maximise bar looks like shit. It’s so ugly!
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April 26, 2010
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I don’t like it. Is there not a talented artist you could approach in the Ubuntu community to create a proper stylish logo and typeface Ubuntu? The typeface looks out dated. Circa year 2002.
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May 5, 2010
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What a change. I love this new interface. Looks a lot like my Mac.
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May 12, 2010
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I have not used Ubuntu in several years, well, since 2002. The progress they have made since then is outstanding. However, I do a lot of web design and image work and was wondering if Ubuntu offers a better solution than Windows 7. What’s your take on this? Is there good image manipulation programs for Ubuntu now?
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May 20, 2010
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I like it. Ubuntu is perfect for HTPC, is this new look gives it a modern flavour.
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May 27, 2010
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Thanks for the info ,I think Ubuntu is perfect for HTPC.