Gnome Icon Pixmap Guidelines -- Request for Amendments

[mawarkus t-online de (Matthias Warkus)]

This is a draft cobbled up in less than ten minutes. I'd like the more
knowledged of you to add in on this or clarify what's not clear. I
intend to move this document into the gnome-icons CVS module when it's
finished.


Gnome Icon Pixmap Guidelines
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FIRST VERY ROUGH DRAFT -- mawa, September 29th, 1999


Gnome icons

- are 48x48 pixels in size, PNG format

- shaped if not representing something that is exactly square-shaped

- don't assume they're displayed on a certain background colour; that
  is, they haven't got grey backgrounds speculating they be used with
  the default GTK+ theme

- use lots of colours so they don't look too cartoonish

- use them in gradients and such so they don't look like candy wrap
  paper

- use mellow colours such as the "Tigert green", "Tigert pink" and
  "Tigert grey" one can find in lots of pixmaps and tiles

- don't contain text; a single letter as a logo is an exception

- are easy to recognise when scaled down to 20x20 pixels

- try to comply with the style of previously created Gnome icons

- are created by hand, no rendering or raytracing is allowed

- try to are a viable and international metaphor for what they
  represent; if this is not possible, they try to at least be a unique
  symbol that's easy to recognise and distinguish

- do not infringe on any trademarks or the look and feel of other
  software

- are not created by postprocessing photographies or screenshots
  without any original artwork being added

- try to reuse previously created elements of Gnome pixmaps (the Gnome
  globe, the Gnome folder etc. etc.) instead of recreating such
  elements from scratch

- use outlines, drop shadows and contrast in order to be
  distinguishable against any background; yes, that includes dark
  green, orange and black -- there happen to be people who like the
  more funky GTK+ themes

Please, please, please submit any suggestions to mawa@iname.com.

mawa
-- 
HEROES OF DEMOCRACY #1: Karel Kramar, Young Czech, Austrian Parliament
He, so far radical supporter of the obstruction who had brought the
parliament to a standstill, initiated the bill on December 18th, 1909,
which assured a working legislative in Austria in 1910.