Archive for January, 2012

We first posted a blog back in December about our work on the multi-monitor experience for Ubuntu. Back then we published the first revision of the Multiple Monitors UX Specification, and got some great feedback. We have taken comments, corrections and suggestions on board, and have come up with an updated multi-monitor specification. The specification [...]

If you’ve ever had to create Ubuntu or Canonical related design materials, chances are you had a look at the Brand Guidelines, which, until now, have only existed in the form of bulky PDFs. Those days are over, as we happily introduce the brand new Ubuntu Brand Guidelines site, where you can read the guidelines [...]

Warm grey is one of the neutral colours from Ubuntu and Canonical’s colour palette. It has been added to the palette for balance, being a bridge between the vibrant orange and aubergine. The brand guidelines specify that warm grey (hex value: #AEA79F) can be used for: backgrounds, graphics, pictograms, dot patterns, charts and diagrams, and [...]

The HUD replaces traditional menus in applications targeting Unity. Say what you mean, instead of navigating through a tree of options. Initially the HUD is shaped as a fast and smart look-ahead search through menus, but over the next four releases, it will gain more sophisticated kinds of interaction.

As developers all over the world sink their teeth into the new features for the next release of Ubuntu it’s time to get out our cameras, brushes and pencils out and start creating the images that will make up the wallpapers for the next release. 12.04 will be an LTS so the same super high [...]

While we were sprinting in Budapest, we had the opportunity to meet the team responsible for such an interesting and inspiring product. We have in fact been lucky enough, thanks to some interesting connections, to be invited at Prezi’s! Of course this only after a hard day of work! Prezi is a presentation tool which [...]

For the multi-monitor design project, we have been making use of prototypes to develop and test some of the finer interactions of the system. One such crucial element is the reveal of the Launcher, particularly as we are exploring having a Launcher on each display. The motivation for making the Launcher available from any display [...]

With Unity we have been trying to raise the bar innovating in the User Experience with new UI elements, such as Dash and Overlay Scrollbars. But this shouldn’t come at the cost of overlooking less exciting but essential core areas of the OS. Last cycle we started thinking about how to improve System Settings, and in [...]