Creating the default wall paper for Ubuntu is not an easy task. No matter the outcome there will be some who like it and others who won’t.
So why does it matter? Throw something together and call it good.
The answer is the default wall paper in many cases is the first expression of quality. To illustrate; if I am viewing a high quality automobile but hate the color or some other design detail what impression do I walk away with?
The Maverick one size fits all solution places limitations on the design of the desired result. As the aspect ratio squeezes and stretches the image from one computer to the next the geometry of the design must embrace this requirement and maintain a pleasant presentation.
The things I considered when creating a submission.
Starting with the basics, the colors must work together and blend well. Science supports this statement and there are tools ( viz. color wheel ) to help make it happen. I like the Ubuntu aubergine and orange colors; bold, strong, assertive, complementary.
Maverick Community
The arrangement of the elements and the selection and blending of colors all come together to deliver a message, feeling, or both. The desired message of this wallpaper is community; active, alive, vivacious communication. The talk balloons represent communication and the swarm of Ubuntu logos the active community. In many respects this wallpaper represents what I am doing now.
The primary color is aubergine, tints of aubergine, with a splash of orange. I was not able to find an environment (ati / nvidia) where the appearance was streaked or wrinkled. Overall balance is achieved by using large elements leveraged against the swarm of bright elements.
The down-side of this design is aspect ratio. The original dimensions are 1920×1200 pixels or a 8:5 aspect ratio. Displaying this image at 1280×1024 pixels looks as follows.
5:4 aspect ratio
The hit on the background image and blends is minimal. The large talk balloons survived well but as expected the small ubuntu logos show skewing.
As I view the 5:4 image two questions come to mind.
- What is the worst case scenario?
- What is the percentage of its use?
IMO the 5:4 deviation is the worst case scenario and some assert it constitutes 10% of Internet users. Although the desired result is every user receive a high quality presentation this is acceptable if the alternative is a poor design.
Adding polish to the submission
The wallpaper of the login process should be simple as the focus of authentication is the login form. For this I would use a modified version of the wallpaper without the talk balloons and community swarm.
Login wallpaper
Upon successful authentication the screen fades to the default wallpaper as the greeting plays in the background.
Nice. 
The last design consideration is how well does it play with “Unity” as some presentations are veiled behind a translucent dark grey screen ( OMG screenshots ). My tests showed the large talk balloons worked well in this environment.
From a marketing perspective the concept works with other delivered media such as CDs and printed materials. Slogans such as “what’s everyone talking about?” add additional marketing value.
More of my submissions may be viewed at the ” Free Culture Show Case “.
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