Why is the default theme brown?

[René Kabis]

This must have been asked before, but why is the default Umbuntu theme brown? I've discovered how to change it, including the boot screen, but why brown?

Being a designer, I know that brown engenders feelings of trust and stability, but it also provides an impression of age and statelyness (ie, a lack of bleeding-edge change and innovation and reliance on old and possibly outdated conventions).

This is not my opinion on the colour brown, it is simply what scientific research has shown that this colour provides as an impression to most people. This is also why very few corporate logos are brown, unless they deal in antiques or traditional products that do not require constant innovation (like some wood products, such as kitchen chairs and tables)

Personally, I would like to know the reasoning behind the choice of brown for the primary system scheme. Anyone?

[Rinzwind]

edit:

Well it's just a color.
With the same reasoning you can also claim brown stands out cuz no-one uses it...

[René Kabis]

edit:

Well it's just a color.
With the same reasoning you can also claim brown stands out cuz no-one uses it...

Fair enough, but why is Kubuntu blue, then? Same system, just KDE instead of Gnome...

[matthew]

Brown is the new black. ;)

(just a silly joke...)

[23meg]

From https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MarkShuttleworth



Why is the default desktop in Ubuntu BROWN?

The overarching theme of the first set of Ubuntu releases is "Humanity". This drives our choice of artwork as much as our selection of packages and decisions around the installer. Our default theme in the first four releases of Ubuntu is called "Human", and it emphasises warm, human colours - brown.

Yes, that's rather unusual in a world where most desktops are blue or green, and the MacOSX has gone kitchenware. Partly, we like the fact that Ubuntu is different, warmer. The computer is not a device any more, it's an extension of your mind, your gateway to other people (by email, voip, irc, and over the web). We wanted a feel that was unique, striking, comforting, and above all, human. We chose brown. that's quite a high risk choice, because to render brown your screen has to render subtle shades of blue, and green, and red. Even slight variations from the norm can shift the "brown" substantially. But monitors and LCD screens these days are increasingly of a standard that we felt the risk was acceptable. In Hoary and Breezy we have gone with a richer, redder brown, based on feedback from lower-end laptop and LCD screen users.

Will brown always be the default desktop colour?

Unlikely that ANYTHING will be static forever, given that we expect Ubuntu to be around a long time :-)

Our current plan is that the Dapper Drake (Ubuntu 6.04 if we hit our April 2006 release date goal) will be the last of this first "set" of releases. So post-Dapper we have the opportunity to define a new "feel" or overarching theme. It would be unlikely to be... blue. But it might be substantially different to the current Human theme. For the moment, let's stay focused on the road to Dapper, polish up the existing Human theme to the max for that, and then break new ground post-Dapper.

[René Kabis]

FAQs: Why and Whither for Ubuntu? (https://wiki.ubuntu.com/MarkShuttleworth/)

Ah. That explains it. I didn’t come across anything like that when I searched the forums, hence my question. Thanks, 23meg.

[prizrak]

Nah it's cuz Mark Shuttleworth is from South Africa, and people in Africa are brown :)

[Rackerz]

Nah it's cuz Mark Shuttleworth is from South Africa, and people in Africa are brown :)

That made me laugh i don't know why.

I think brown is a good colour. It gives Ubuntu it's Ubuntu.

[Qrk]

Brown is earthy; human.

Ubuntu went with brown because every single stinking Linux distro looks the same. KDE with a blue theme or Gnome with a Blue theme. Sometimes, to be really different, XFCE with a blue theme. I like that Ubuntu is not like the others; but I admit the first thing I do when installing it is change to a blue or green theme.

[René Kabis]

I like that Ubuntu is not like the others; but I admit the first thing I do when installing it is change to a blue or green theme.

You got a chuckle outta me from that one...

IMHO, brown is just not a good colour for technology, unless it has a culturally-independant theme that would benefit from being brown. A good example is a desktop theme centered around a movie that deals with something brown, such as “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. In this case, brown would be an excellent choice, because most chocolate is some shade of brown.

Ubuntu’s theme of “humanity” works decently in this case, but may seem a little jarring from a Northern European or Asian viewpoint. Remember, humanity comes in all “colours”, from brown to white, yellow and red. The logo itself has these other colours (tho a bit off so they harmonize better), and perhaps the combination of these (logo colours, white background and brown widgets) is what was being aimed for.

Then again, I could just be overanalyzing this whole thing....

[matthew]

Ubuntu’s theme of “humanity” works decently in this case, but may seem a little jarring from a Northern European or Asian viewpoint. Remember, humanity comes in all “colours”, from brown to white, yellow and red. The logo itself has these other colours (tho a bit off so they harmonize better), and perhaps the combination of these (logo colours, white background and brown widgets) is what was being aimed for.

Then again, I could just be overanalyzing this whole thing....My sense was it's more of an "earthy" theme (as in dirt). Down to earth, homey, not pretentious or flashy-fake.

I probably shouldn't try to stand up for brown too much, though. My desktop colors, background, and themes change almost every day. :)

[xequence]

Nah it's cuz Mark Shuttleworth is from South Africa, and people in Africa are brown :)

I dont think so. I think there are alot of white people in south africa, and something is happening with racial tensions or something.

Anyway, I doubt thats the reason :P

Ubuntu means humanity to others. Whats really human? Earth! We live on it. Brown is an earthy colour.

[Buffalo Soldier]

I think brown is a good colour. It gives Ubuntu it's Ubuntu.Totally true. When I first started using Ubuntu... the first thing I do is change the theme to something "bluer". Since Breezy, I'm sticking around with the default Brown.

[Lux Perpetua]

I don't think I will ever use a brown theme. My current theme is white, with blue-violet highlighting. I can't stand any highlight color that isn't jump-off-the-screen bright.

However, I'm perfectly okay with Ubuntu being brown.

[cowlip]

I think the brown's fine, the problem is the window backgrounds are stark white. Something that gives a little warmth like Clearlooks-olive would be better suited in that dept.

[Stormy Eyes]

Then again, I could just be overanalyzing this whole thing....

You probably are. The Ubuntu devs wanted a default theme that felt warm and inviting. The blues and greens typically used are somewhat cold colors, and brown is warmer. Those who want to change their theme can do so easily enough. I myself am using mostly white, with red highlights (sort of a blood on snow kind of deal; I'm silly like that).

[mstlyevil]

I have no problem with the default theme being brown. I never use the default theme in any distro or os in the first place anyhoo. I would like for there to be more options of themes out of the box because sometimes hunting down and installing new themes can be a little of a pain in the tush. I am using Suse 10 right now and they provide more choices of themes out of the box than Ubuntu does. I changed the default blue and green theme to a custom grey and black theme that I really like. It feels more modern and updated than the default theme.

[Malphas]

I think the brown theme looks quite rubbish, I don't know of many people that stick with it, which would suggest most people aren't too keen either. Although I guess there are a sizeable group of people (including myself) that'll probably customise it to their own tastes no matter what the default is.

[Rackerz]

I think the brown theme looks quite rubbish, I don't know of many people that stick with it, which would suggest most people aren't too keen either. Although I guess there are a sizeable group of people (including myself) that'll probably customise it to their own tastes no matter what the default is.

Well, i wouldn't quite call it rubbish. It's a matter of taste and personal opinion. I like it brown, but also like it blue with my energybliss desktop background so i feel more at home in Ubuntu.

Also how do you change the Gnome theme to blue? Is it pre-installed or do i need to download it?

Thanks

[Stormy Eyes]

Also how do you change the Gnome theme to blue? Is it pre-installed or do i need to download it?

In "System -> Preferences -> Theme", you can choose from a few themes that have been preinstalled for you. You can also use the theme dialog to install new themes once you have downloaded them from sites like http://art.gnome.org and http://www.gnome-look.org.

[poofyhairguy]

Ubuntu’s theme of “humanity” works decently in this case, but may seem a little jarring from a Northern European or Asian viewpoint.

This is especially true for an American market that associates anything brown with human waste (got that from some marketing text).

But I think that part of the point- to make Ubuntu stand out against the "western" distros.