Orange Ghost
Author: Peter Lammertzen
Final Score: 33%
Description: I really didn't notice the contest until the 14th of March. Had some ideas, but not much time I thought. I consider myself to be a heavy graphical user and I LOVE to switch themes now and then. For me a big problem is that some themes are really fantastic looking, but are not really usable. If I take a look at my screen I want to be able to concentrate on my workspace and not be confronted with too much 'noise'. Usually this noise comes from inconsistencies in the interface. In my opinion, the regular Aqua interface has too much contrast and too much color differences in the interface.
I kept having an idea about a theme in which the basic elements like widgets and buttons could be almost 'transparant'. For first-time-users it's important to know where all the buttons are, but for myself it's not needed. I know where everything is and I know where to click-and-drag. So what if there was a theme that makes these elements almost invisible?
I've tried this in this theme, Don't have a clue how it would turn out if it were to be used, but in my opinion it's interesting enough to find out.
Why the name? Why the color Orange? Besides the fact that orange is my favorite color, I thought it would show my idea really well. If done properly (which I can't right now) I think this theme can have a lot more different colors besides the gray basic elements. I'm thinking of white, lime/green and light blue variations.
I'm really curious what you people think of this idea and hope to hear from you no matter what!
Biography: I've been working as a freelance graphic designer for 8 years now. I've done a great variety of things, from corporate identities to webdesign and hope to keep doing this untill the day I stop breathing. I've never taken the time (or had the time) to create something like a theme. It always seemed to be to difficult or time consuming (which it is!). Now I've taken the opportunity to start pixeljerking and it's been a blast, I never thought it would be this much fun! I really hope this fever remains where it is now!
Comments
Posted by Phillip Ryu (Panel) at March 30, 2004 09:54 AM
Like Dynamica, this entry uses pretty subtle gradients for its colors, and again, I'm not quite feeling it. The color helps, definitely. The "ghostly" greys would make it seem like I was viewing an entry through a thick, color draining filter, if it weren't for the oranges. However, I say brighten it up a bit, and perhaps experiment a bit more with how you use the colors. This has some potential; orange and grey could be a great match, but it needs some work.
Posted by Kevin Husted (Panel) at March 30, 2004 10:07 AM
The author states that he wanted a theme which was useable unlike other themes in that this one will get out of your way so you can concentrate on your work. My problem with this is that, this theme gets TOO out of my way, I have to squint to find the element Im wanting to click on. It would definitely benefit from some more contrast.
Posted by Max Rudberg (Panel) at March 30, 2004 10:08 AM
Super dull theme, sorry. I don't think invisible elements will be a hit and plain orange is one of the ugliest colors I know of. It's not for me.
Posted by William Bart (Panel) at March 30, 2004 11:20 AM
I disagree with Max on the orange - I'm still waiting for a cool orange and gray theme. Unfortunately the orange here is a muddy orange and the stuff is too ghosted. Too muddy for my tastes.
Posted by Harlan Lewis (Panel) at March 30, 2004 01:11 PM
Agreed with Max and BBX. This orange isn't doing it for me. I wish I could say more, maybe find some positives, but that orange just really kills even otherwise good elements.
Posted by Steve Streza (Panel) at March 30, 2004 01:58 PM
This doesn't work. What's clickable and what isn't? It's impossible to tell. If you turn down the contrast, it'd be one big grey panel, including menus and buttons.
Posted by Angel Rendon at March 31, 2004 12:10 AM
If only it weren't so darn gray!
Posted by Sage at March 31, 2004 01:27 AM
Damn, I can barely see the thing! Methinks somebody's monitor needs re-calibration.
Posted by Michael Salbato at March 31, 2004 06:16 AM
Not enough contrast is just as bad as too much really, as this theme demonstrates. I get the point, but the colors don't work, and it just looks like it would be way too hard to use.
Posted by Dan Shannon at March 31, 2004 09:51 AM
Where'd the interface go?
Posted by Bill Snebold at March 31, 2004 08:26 PM
I don't mind the concept of an interface that "gets out your way." The idea would work best if the super-ghosted treatment was limited to inactive windows only.
Posted by Jason Harris (Panel) at April 3, 2004 04:05 AM
This theme (in my opinion) suffers from the same problem as Dynamica - the highlight along the edges of the elements makes the theme look sloppy and unfinished. I do, however, like the menu highlights. On those, since the highlight color is filling the element and fading out at the edges instead of fading in, the element looks complete. I'd be interested in seeing the same idea done that way throughout.
The theme is rather bland and doesn't capture one's attention too easily. It's also not super-creative in that the only really new thing to me is the edge highlight. I don't find the theme very aesthetically appealing, but fortunately, it looks like it'd be pretty easy to turn into an actual theme.
Posted by at April 5, 2004 06:34 PM
Makes me think I'm staring through thick fog. Interesting. I don't like orange though...
Posted by Gramage at April 5, 2004 06:35 PM
That last post was me.
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