Paper & Plastic - August 21, 2004
Author: Mike Matas, XiAP, and Harlan Lewis
Version: 1.0
Reviewed by: Daniel Shannon
User Rating: 
88%
Most themes add. Paper & Plastic, by Mike Matas and themers XiAP and Harlan Lewis, breaks the trend and subtracts; it generally simplifies the look and feel of Mac OS X in an aesthetically-pleasing way. Though not without its flaws, this is an excellent, extra-packed theme that leaves little to be desired.
Aesthetics
Paper & Plastic is generally a very subtle and understated theme. The dominant colors are light blue, white, and gray. In the completed theme, the gray—originally used in brushed metal windows and all windows’ title bars—appears in the menu bar. Mike Matas’ original mock-up called for the menu bar to be a simple white. The change adds to the overall complexity of the theme, giving it a considerably more three-dimensional feel inconsistent with its name. Users may also notice that the grays are inconsistent. A light gradient is used for active Aqua windows’ title bars, a darker one for active metal windows and for the menu bar. Confusingly enough, the title bars of inactive Aqua windows take on the same gray color as active metal windows. XiAP and Harlan Lewis would do well to figure out exactly which colors they want to use where.
Those not quite so picky—or not quite so anal-retentive—are sure to love Paper & Plastic. The three basic colors work well with one another: they’re easy on the eyes, providing contrast without being too bright or flashy. Though the boxy look is a departure from the typical Apple style, it is a change most users will welcome. A balance between rounded and sharp edges is carefully maintained throughout, so the change is not shocking or overly radical. The simple, no-frills design is easy on the eyes, and best of all, goes well with most of Apple’s computers: the white bits call to mind the iBook, the gray ones the aluminum PowerBook. A user willing to overlook the theme’s minor flaws will be impressed by its overall appearance.
Usability
Paper & Plastic’s inconspicuous, reserved look keeps it incredibly usable. The widgets’ colors contrast enough to keep them visible, but not so much that they become a distraction. Users will immediately notice that when navigating menus, the powder-blue selected item stands in stark contrast with the white menu background. The prevalence of white in the theme may seem an initial drawback, especially in low-light conditions, but it takes well under ten minutes to adapt.
Extras
This theme’s designers went a step beyond most in the extras department. Rather than provide a wallpaper or two, this team included twenty-two. Most of these are modified Apple wallpapers, redone in Paper-and-Plastic-style line art. The disk image also includes a “Chrome Clock” widget for Konfabulator and a cursor set. The wallpaper designs deserve a great deal of praise—they are creative and quirky, not to mention well-designed. Each one matches the theme quite nicely (however, darker backgrounds tend to be more attractive: the added contrast does a lot for the desktop’s look).
Conclusion
Paper & Plastic is, without question, worth a try. Its flaws are likely to irritate those who were excited about Mike Matas’ original design; however, they are not serious enough to detract from the theme as a whole. Its individual parts may be imperfect, but considered together, they comprise a wonderful, usable, attractive theme.
Comments
Posted by Angel Rendon at August 22, 2004 11:42 PM | Edit | Delete
This review is a little late--I wonder why it wasn't done sooner. I like this theme a lot. One of its greatest strengths are the extras.
Posted by danielgrenell at August 22, 2004 11:49 PM | Edit | Delete
i think you were a little harsh in your review, you cannot expect an icon set in ever theme, creating icons is a grueling process. I think the menu bars are perfect, but i must agree with your point about color unification. as for your objection to the brightness, that's one hell of a nit pic. if you don't want to create a dark theme, and you want to create a lighter theme, that's the themes choice, and it is not a flaw of the theme, rather a feature. if all the themes were of the same luminosity, they would all look alike. i'd give this theme about a 9.7, maybe 9.8.
Posted by Holigen at August 22, 2004 11:54 PM | Edit | Delete
Ya, comeon, you seriously cant expect an icon set for every theme.
Posted by at August 23, 2004 04:26 PM | Edit | Delete
I think it's the best theme except Aqua. The only reason why I don't prefer it over Aqua it is that the scrollbars don't look like scrollbars. Since they're not 3D, they seem like part of the content instead of the window.
For the rest, looking at his site, I think Mike Matas is a genius.
Posted by Doxxic at August 23, 2004 04:37 PM | Edit | Delete
In addition to my former post (the one right above this one I guess): Mike Matas is not only a genius, I think he should become a very hot person at Apple Computer one day.
Just look at the way he presents himself: http://www.mikematas.com/Mike/.
It's really cool. His presentation fits exactly with the Apple brand, and then even a little more.
;-)
Posted by Blacktiger at August 23, 2004 06:32 PM | Edit | Delete
I love paper and plastic, ever since it came out it has been my favorite theme to use! I have tried switching to other themes as they are released, but I keep coming back; largely due to the fact this theme is so usable.
I don't even notice it while I am working on something but it provides a nice look when I go to use a menu bar or dialog box or whatever. I like the way Aqua windows and Metal windows contrast and how simple all of the elements are. Perhaps my favorite part is the iTunes skin. I hate it when iTunes is not skinned as it looks out of place in other themes.
Well done Mike.
Posted by cliff at August 23, 2004 11:35 PM | Edit | Delete
I especially like the scroll bars in this theme. They are more ubiqutious and feel more like graphic design than interface design. The white outline around the interior rectangle makes for a slimmer appearance which I like. Aqua looks bulky and bulbous after using Paper and Plastic.
Posted by Milo at August 24, 2004 04:23 AM | Edit | Delete
somewhat similar to Siro which is one of my favs
Posted by Ernest Liu at September 7, 2004 08:23 PM | Edit | Delete
Seldom do most people like a certain theme, and this is definately one of them, with a 99% user rating! i like, I'm going to try it out now!
Posted by Jeffrey Leung at September 20, 2004 08:12 AM | Edit | Delete
guys i downloaded plastic and paper, but when i try to install it, windows says that it cant read the file because the type is unknown, is there anyway to solve this problem??
Posted by Pillslim at September 29, 2004 02:33 AM | Edit | Delete
I don't even notice it while I am working on something but it provides a nice look when I go to use a menu bar or dialog box or whatever. I like the way Aqua windows and Metal windows contrast and how simple all of the elements are. Perhaps my favorite part is the iTunes skin. I hate it when iTunes is not skinned as it looks out of place in other themes.
Posted by Pillslim at September 29, 2004 02:33 AM | Edit | Delete
I don't even notice it while I am working on something but it provides a nice look when I go to use a menu bar or dialog box or whatever. I like the way Aqua windows and Metal windows contrast and how simple all of the elements are. Perhaps my favorite part is the iTunes skin. I hate it when iTunes is not skinned as it looks out of place in other themes.
Posted by Jonathan Barrett at October 12, 2004 07:15 AM | Edit | Delete
Excellent theme, but one gripe - in BBEdit, the white of the window BG blends with the white of the sidebar. Makes it kinda unusable for me (I live in BBEdit). Will get 100% if this ever gets addressed.
And yes, I realise this is probably more Bare Bones's issue than Mike's
Posted by harley davidson part at October 18, 2004 12:36 AM | Edit | Delete
I think you're amazing! Thank you so much.
Posted by outsider at February 4, 2006 10:58 AM | Edit | Delete
Posted by outsider at February 4, 2006 10:58 AM | Edit | Delete
zdrowa żywność, mieszkania Warszawa, ogłoszenia nieruchomości, projektowanie stron, tworzenie stron, agencja reklamowa, reklama w internecie
Posted by git at February 4, 2006 11:52 AM | Edit | Delete
zdrowa żywność, psycholog, nauka angielskiego, soczewki kontaktowe, psyche sf, jk, ns, projektowanie wnętrz, hydraulik, opcat, domy opieki, freetimes, jidds, fabrykapoe, sfworks, polskepoeje, pb, pp, jk, wypadki, opony, agroturystyka, klimatyzacja, apteka, dentysta, fs, kray, eway, angs, gits, akupunktura, sw, sf, puz