Re: GNOME Style Guide

[So Yeon Jeong <sjeong18 gmail com>]

Hi Allan and engagement list! 

I'm So Yeon from NYC studying web and software design, and looking for experience working on software design. Previously, I worked at a design studio doing marketing and branding work in Boston. Currently, I'm studying computer graphics and design at Pratt Institute in New York.

Having looked at the guidelines and example designs, here are some comments: 

• Does this style guide apply just to the software design, or to the marketing/brand content (website, business cards), or both? 
• Typography: Is there a reason for the switch from Cantarell (which is already used throughout the website and such) to Source Sans Pro? Both are fine and simple sans serifs but if you are already using one, what is the reason for the switch?
• Secondary colors: It may be useful to see color gradients with varying saturations and brightnesses. The purple comes off as a bit heavy to me, for instance.
• Visual motifs: What is the context in which the three motifs in the first row would be used in? While I understand that the rest of the motifs are playing off the wallpaper designs, in the actual sample designs, I'm finding that the simple and strong GNOME logo clashes a bit with the delicate motifs.Though it does work better, in my opinion, when it is filling a shape (for example, in website badges or leaflets). Maybe it would be useful to play around with the motif in different color schemes to make it stronger and less delicate?
• Generally, it may be useful to explain more contexts within the style guide.

Best, 

So Yeon

Subject:        GNOME Style Guide
Date:   Fri, 17 Feb 2017 16:55:22 +0000
From:   Allan Day <aday gnome org>
To:     engagement-list <engagement-list gnome org>



Hi all,

One of the problems we have in the Engagement Team is that each time someone comes to do visual design work, they often pick their own fonts, colours and visual style. This means that the project lacks a single visual identity.

Last year, Carla Quintana Carrasco did some work to help us with this. Over the summer, she helped us evaluate colour schemes, fonts, and visual approaches. I've just created some draft guidelines <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gnome-design-team/gnome-marketing/master/brand/style-guide.png>, as well as a set of example designs <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gnome-design-team/gnome-marketing/master/brand/style-examples.png>, based on this work.

My view is that it would be extremely advantageous for us to adopt a set of guidelines, and encourage their use wherever possible. Not only would this help with brand recognition, but it will also make it easier for new contributors to develop their own materials, and will allow us to create a set of template resources that members of the community can use.

It would be great to hear your thoughts on this, including feedback on the guidelines and examples themselves.

Allan

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