3rd Place: Calabi by Sascha Höhne
Author: Sascha Höhne
Final Score: 85%
Description: Dark, shiny and a little exotic. "Calabi" does not try to reinvent the Mac OS X GUI, but rather build up on what is well-known and time tested. Though completely unrelated, its name stems from the "Calabi-Yau" theories. I plan to create an icon set if this wins.
Biography: Sascha Höhne is one of the most popular Mac artists today, thanks to the high quality desktops and icons that he offers at RAD.E8 DESIGN, a design studio located in Hamburg, Germany. Sascha's Snow.E icon set has rapidly become one of the most popular icon sets available, and his upcoming MINIUM° set is highly anticipated.
Comments
Posted by Phillip Ryu (Panel) at March 28, 2004 11:01 PM
Wow! Need I say more? Calabi is simply the best dark theme idea I have ever seen. Props to Sascha for creating a mockup I can hardly critique; I believe I will break down and cry if this doesn't win top 6. :D
Posted by Harlan Lewis (Panel) at March 29, 2004 12:23 AM
The promise of an icon set is certainly enticing, but I'll try to forget about that and focus on the mockup itself :).
Fairly similar to JetBlack in its high contrast approach, which makes one wonder about usability regarding text and simply looking at white windows in that dark frame. That said, the integration of white elements (scroll and progress bar backgrounds, for example) go a long way towards making white-on-black or black-on-white text not seem terribly out of place.
Also like JetBlack, Calabi seems to be designed with the better contrast handling of LCD monitors in mind, so I can't say much more about it. My CRT isn't very forgiving of color combinations like these.
Posted by Max Rudberg (Panel) at March 29, 2004 07:32 AM
I really like this theme, it's got such a cool glow to it.
It would actually match my brother's Blueberry iMac perfectly, because we painted it black on the inside, and if you look in a certain angle, you can still se the turquoise color, in the same way that the edges in this theme looks.
As Harlan said, what bugs me about dark themes is the high contrast between white fields and the dark theme. I'm not sure if making the scrollbar/progressbar/slider wells white is the right way to "solve" it. I would rather see that he sort of planned ahead and considered it possible to change background of the white fields. But that's not his fault really.
The only thing I don't like is the Apple menu which looks too compact, and the menu highlights could be a lot cooler.
Other than that, fantastic mockup!
Posted by Joe Kohlmann (Panel) at March 29, 2004 08:17 AM
Sascha's mockup is definitely well-crafted. I really like how he made a dark theme and somehow managed to make it, well, not dark. Personally, I thought that the addition of white areas was a brilliant idea because quite honestly, white areas that cannot be themed will fit right into Calabi because white shows up everywhere else. Above all, I really like the window widgets; that kind of emboss-glow effect is sweet and it really does the trick. However, I will note that they seem to have an ascetic that isn't quite present in the other elements. I also think that Sascha should've used butted segment tab ends; the round ones look out of place compared with the buttons everywhere else. I agree with Max, the menu hightlight is kind of boring. However, how does one unsquish the Apple? I find it pretty hard to separate the leaf from the rest of the apple when using fonts, so I'd personally let this one go. Other than that, it's an amazing mockup, sure to win 6th or better.
Posted by Kevin Husted (Panel) at March 29, 2004 08:50 AM
Firstly Im not going to read any other viewer comments before I post mine so please disregard anything repititious comments. I want to assure Im being totally objective.
Definitely a sexy approach. The full screen preview really lets you see that although it has a fair amount of eyecandy appeal it looks totally useable in a daily design environment. The menu item selections look a bit simplified compared to the rest of the UI treatments, Im not saying I'd like them to be that full on shiney gradient used elsewhere in the theme, but something with a little more substance to it. A very well executed design.
Posted by Steve Streza (Panel) at March 29, 2004 09:41 AM
Interesting. Very Playstation 2ish. However, if you've read any of my reviews, you'll know how skeptical I am with dark themes. I'd have to take a look at it in full, but the stuff that's there is really good.
Posted by William Bart (Panel) at March 29, 2004 11:12 AM
Wicked :) I really dig the sculpting of the window panels - very cool. About the only negative for me here is the use of white in the control wells... seems a bit to high-contrast for such a dark theme. I imagine the icons would be incredible. Sasha rocks as always.
Posted by Chris McElligott at March 30, 2004 11:48 PM
Take two teaspoons of Jetblack, a dash of Aqua blue, mix for a few days in photoshop and look what you get. A dead sexy looking theme. For now I think this theme would be very hard to use much like Jetblack but its very well done! But then again it is Sascha!
Posted by Bruce Baugh at March 31, 2004 12:00 AM
Wow. This is great stuff.
Posted by TheIceMan at March 31, 2004 12:11 AM
What a cool mockup. Famous for his icons, now also well-respected for his themes too?! My GOD man, give others a chance. :D
Posted by NetworkShadow at March 31, 2004 12:21 AM
Sure hope it's in the top 3.
Posted by Charley Newcomer at March 31, 2004 12:40 AM
Very cool colors. Well designed.
This one is in the top 5.
I like dark themes, but some are too dark. This seems to be a dark theme that glows.....GREAT!
Posted by Sage at March 31, 2004 01:25 AM
Oh man, that's PURTY! Like others have said, the addition of extra white areas was a good move. But seriously, I want to touch it and feel it glowing in my hands! :-)
Posted by Ernest Liu at March 31, 2004 02:29 AM
Everyone's giving such great comments about this theme! What about me? Oh... I'm like everyone else. This is DEFINETLY the best dark theme I've seen, and I love the 'shiny-ness' of it. The color selection is great. There's one thing that it needs though... to be realized into a real theme.
Posted by Far at March 31, 2004 04:39 AM
Nice work! this is one of my favourites, mainly because it illustrates that a "dark theme" doesn't necessarily have to be a "black theme". Great work, i hope to use this one day.
Posted by Michael Salbato at March 31, 2004 05:42 AM
Wow. This is probably my favorite entry here. I looked at the image first and thought "pretty cool", then saw the fullsize one... yeah, excellent work. Then I saw the author and wasn't surprised. It could easily compete with JetBlack for dark themes. I dig the high-gloss and the use of white.
My only suggestion would be to spruce up the menus/menu highlights to match the rest, as they seem too flat right now. Pretty that up and you'll have one of the best themes out there.
Posted by [ idle. ] at March 31, 2004 05:51 AM
Sascha,
congrats on this one. I knew would be hatd to beat in this competition especially since you do so well with what everybody seems to enjoy with the hardware. I'm personally not a fan of high gloss or "dark" themes but this one is impressively well made (its Sascha, hello!) and there is really nothing that i really could critisize too much except maybe that the white areas deconstruct the feeling of depth a little...
This definetely deserves a prize. You have my full 5 Stars!
[ idle. ]
Posted by Phillip Ryu (Panel) at March 31, 2004 06:19 AM
Must... pull myself.. away.... So... good... :D
Posted by RAD.E8 | Sascha at March 31, 2004 08:35 AM
Hey folks,
thanks a lot for the nice comments, I'm really glad that you like it.
Just a few comments from my side, also to explain certain decisions I have made regarding the design:
TOOLBAR
I expected that some of you would feel the toolbar (especially highlighted/selected segments) looks a little boring compared to the rest.
And while I DO agree that it does not look very fancy there, I personally think that keeping it (very) simple is more usable, easier and faster to read.
But maybe that's just me :) I chose to make it in a way that I regard as more usable - compared to just pouring out all eye candy and not thinking about usability.
After all, spiced up menus may be a potential alternative available via switching Aqua/Graphite.
SCROLL / MENU BARS
Again, I made this based on my personal preference. To be more precise: I don't dig scroll bars with dark background in the Finder's column view (which I use about 99% of the time). And to make some elements match the light background of scroll bars, I designed progress bars etc. in the same way.
Maybe I shouldn't say this... but the more I look at it... maybe I should have chosen the main cyan/blue instead of white.
Sascha
Posted by Dan Shannon at March 31, 2004 09:18 AM
I like the dark look, but it's a wee bit too much. It could use something to offset the dark bits; a brighter Aqua look, for example. Kinda cool, but not usable.
Posted by 3nzo at March 31, 2004 09:19 AM
I really love the simple menus/highlights and I'm glad you didn't gloss them up for no reason. It seems to benefit the theme instead of detract from it. :) A great mix of usability and eyecandy.
Posted by gautch at March 31, 2004 10:36 AM
Im not a dark theme user.. but i definatly think this is one of the best in the contest.. Props Sascha!
Posted by apalmo at March 31, 2004 11:30 AM
This theme is great. I looove to cool teal glow. Great job!
Posted by FB Eye™ at March 31, 2004 12:02 PM
I am too a huge fan of Sasha's work, but when it comes to themes and OS X... well dark themes are almost unusable when trying to get work done. Calabi is sweet, yet I almost have to squint to clearly see what I'd be clicking on.
Are you judging the themes on usability or just originality? I think we need both...
Posted by Mr Mojo at March 31, 2004 12:03 PM
Now this I like! This I could see myself using. Out of all the themes I usually use the OS X default or Aqua Pro 90% of the time. I generally sway away from dark themes. This one though I think I could use.
Posted by solidfox at March 31, 2004 03:56 PM
Looks a lot lika a city at night, and for that it needs white. I've never liked dark themes simply cause they make me feel kind of down. But all this white kind of lighten things up, might actually use it. But with the menubar not being rounded and the menus being as boring as they are I'd definitely have to change it myself if it was released like that.
Posted by Ben at March 31, 2004 04:49 PM
Utterly gorgeous... looks like some kind of new graphite/titanium alloy that the new G5 Powerbooks should be made out of!
Would be cool if you could integrate some kind of subtle glow for the tabs... not sure what the "shinier" one indicates to the brain.
I use a bright Sony LCD monitor and it looks very usable. I think people on CRT's don't have enuf contrast to make this work.
Posted by Gabriela Durini at March 31, 2004 09:20 PM
I am totally into the dark themes so this is one of my faves for sure! Great job!
Posted by william at April 2, 2004 05:06 PM
Simply, the BEST dark theme in the contest. Though not at the top in the ratings the artistry is second to none. The elements are believable and the execution is brilliant. It's close but I really hope this makes it into the top 6.
Posted by william at April 2, 2004 05:07 PM
addendum to above post: IMHO, not just the BEST dark theme, but THE best theme overall in the contest.
Posted by Lee Ann at April 3, 2004 03:23 PM
This is the best dark theme I have seen of the entrees and my personal favorite over all. Love to have this theme on my Mac.
Posted by Harold Harmon at April 4, 2004 07:19 PM
Dark themes are usually not my thing. Mainly because my monitor tends to have problems with contrast on dark themes. That being said I love this theme you did a great job keeping the design consistent. Congratulations Sascha.. now about thoe icons you promised :)
Posted by Daniel Goffin at April 4, 2004 07:59 PM
I'm not a big fan of dark themes either (oww, wait i've made one myself, didn't i? ;) ) but yours is made with such a pleasing design that i can't wait to try it on my mac. Just to see the effects of it. I really love the luminiscent backlit glow it emmits. Let me add my congratulations on this one, Sascha.
Posted by Paul Johnson at April 4, 2004 09:02 PM
Sascha, big congrats on this excellent design and on your final ranking! Best of luck making it "real", especially in minimizing/working-around the well known challenges of making dark themes. You should chat with Billy Bart a bit--I bet he could help you avoid having to reinvent the wheel at each step of the process.
Again, congrats!
Posted by Philip Beck at April 4, 2004 09:20 PM
Congratulations. Intersting design. Attractive but I was equivocal about this one because it is yet another dark theme. I can see this one suffering from usability issues as do the winners below this. Again, why spend the time and effort on developing a theme that will tried and trashed? Usability should be the most important criterion for winning.
Posted by Ernest Liu at April 5, 2004 12:45 AM
Yeah! Score! One of my favorites won. Hurry up and theme it people. I'm sitting here waiting......
Posted by Jason Harris (Panel) at April 5, 2004 02:44 AM
This mockup is freakin' hot! "Sexy" definitely describes it, and describes it well.
The first thing that I notice is the bevel on the buttons, tabs, and titlebars. They're beautiful.
Things I don't like: the titlebar widgets are conceived excellently, but look slightly sloppy in the actual mockup. The edges look a bit fuzzy. This also applies to the tabs, and to the stroke around the metal window. The drop-down menus seem like somewhat of an afterthought in that they aren't nearly as sexy as the windows are.
This theme grabs one's attention and holds it hard. It's not insanely original in that the shapes of the elements aren't far from Aqua, but the color choice is beautifully conceived. I find it to be utterly aesthetically appealing, and I feel that it would be pretty usable over the long-term. I don't see any issues that would keep it from being made into a real theme.
Posted by yoxi at April 5, 2004 02:45 AM
Very happy to see this in the top 3 - Sascha, it's the first time I've ever seen someone make blue look warm! I very much like dark themes that aren't black (too much contrast with large open windows whose background you can't change from white is cruel to the eyes/brain) but this would soothe without chilling me. I look forward to trying it out.
Posted by R. Peter Clark at April 5, 2004 08:35 AM
Wow, this is hot! The blue accents on the windows and buttons are so slick. I love the translucent effect on the progress bars. I also like the white bieng incorporated into the widgets to offset the white areas that probably can't be changed. My only suggestion would be the selected menu title is rather ordinary, giving it an effect like the selected button/tabs have might be cool.
Posted by Max Rudberg (Panel) at April 5, 2004 11:03 AM
Congratulations Sascha! I rated this theme 10 and I'm glad it will get made!
Posted by Harold Harmon at April 5, 2004 11:40 PM
I'm not sure why, but i just looked at this again and it does not look as dark as it did before. It seems the more I see this the more I like it.
Posted by merlin at April 6, 2004 06:54 AM
Too shiny, but hey it's Sascha's style afterall. Looks like it's done by MR clean (:
Not a fan of dark theme too.
What I like is the blue-black contrast on the menu with yellowed letters(I'm not really sure of that).
Posted by at April 8, 2004 11:53 PM
I'd like to see the window maximize, minimize and close widgets a little larger, but other than that this mockup is very striking. I would definitely run this as my main theme if it were developed. Nice work!
Posted by Ryan Butler at April 9, 2004 08:36 AM
Great theme! I'd recommend glossy menubar highlights, though.
Posted by : GRAMAGE : at April 9, 2004 12:34 PM
This is sweet. I think color variations would be nice too, like red or green.
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