[Design-team] Wallpapers guidelines draft
William Jon McCann
william.jon.mccann at gmail.com
Sat Aug 8 14:13:24 UTC 2009
Hey,
Some comments inline and a new draft attached.
2009/8/7 Máirín Duffy <mairin at linuxgrrl.com>:
> On Fri, 2009-08-07 at 19:41 -0400, William Jon McCann wrote:
>
>>
>> All submissions or contributions:
>>
> [ snip ]
> This section is great, no comments - well one suggestion, we could call
> out good sources of appropriately-licensed image sources.
>
>> Subject matter:
>>
>> * Must not contain brand names or trademarks of any kind
>>
>> * Must not contain material that is inappropriate, offensive,
>> indecent, obscene, hateful, tortuous, defamatory, slanderous or
>> libelous
>> - No sexually explicit or provocative subject matter
>> - No images of weapons or violent imagery
>> - No alcohol, smoking, or drug use imagery
>>
>> * Must not contain material that promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or
>> harm against any group or individual or promotes discrimination based
>> on race, gender, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation
>> or age
>>
>> * Must not contain material that is unlawful, in violation of or
>> contrary to the laws or regulations in the jurisdiction where the work
>> is created
>>
>> * No religious, political, or nationalist imagery (including flags)
>>
>> * No images of hats, particularly fedoras.
>> This is a matter of respect for our primary sponsor, Red Hat, Inc.,
>> and is not negotiable. Of course, passive appearance of hats, such as
>> those upon heads in a crowd, may be allowed.
>>
>> * No version numbers.
>> End users might prefer to continue to use an older theme, or use
>> the latest theme in their older version of Fedora. To enable that
>> choice, do not use any version numbers within the Fedora artwork.
>
> this section is great up to here
>>
>> * No text.
>> Text should not be used in the backgrounds because the artwork is
>> intended for a global audience and to be reused by derivative
>> distributions.
>
> This is reasonable, but artistic use of type is permitted and should
> probably be specifically called out here.
That's fine. This part was copied mostly from the current guidelines.
>> * Should not contain images of people (contemporary, historical, or
>> fictional)
>>
>
> Why is this? What about characters? The human figure? The human figure
> abstracted?
That would be fine as long as the character doesn't convey a message
or ideology, give the appearance of preferring a specific region,
culture, race, politics, religion, etc. We should make this more
clear I suppose. An invented character without any of those
attributes should be fine.
>> * Should not contain images of pets, or captive or mistreated animals
>
> The latter part I understand, but I'm unsure of the concern with images
> of pets. E.g., a horse could be considered a pet and Samuele submitted
> some very nice imagery with horses... e.g. if we're just trying to avoid
> the flickr-zomg-look-at-my-cat syndrome we should just call it out...
> but we've never had a problem with people submitting pictures of their
> cat.
If the animal is in a domestic or beast of burden setting I think we
are best to avoid it. If the horse does not appear with a saddle,
reins, in a corral, etc it can be assumed to be a wild horse - and
that would be fine. This is a very subtle issue. This goes to one of
the "experience tones" (adjective list) I mention below. "unfettered"
>> Technical requirements:
>>
>> * Must use a format that can be read by software available in Fedora
>> Package Collection
>> Preferred image formats include SVG and PNG. Master files, which
>> may be further edited, should be maintained in non-lossy formats.
>> Preserving vector graphics, raster layers, and channels is important
>> for such materials.
>
> I would word it slightly differently, maybe break it out into proposals
> vs. source files. Source files are required. Proposals should be in PNG
> irregardless of whether or not it's vector or bitmap. Source files must
> be SVG for vector format submissions and XCF or compressed XCF (xcf.bz2
> or xcf.gz).
Sure sounds ok, except let's say "regardless" there. This part was
mostly copied from the current guidelines.
> We also require that any source images, brushes, textures, etc. used in
> the design must be cited individually, referenced properly (download
> site, author, license), and be under a license compatible with CC-BY-SA.
Sure, sounds fine too.
>> * Originals for landscape formats must be a minimum of 1600 pixels
>> wide and 1200 pixels high
>> The larger the better. Photographic submissions should be made at
>> the highest resolution the camera is capable of.
>
> I think we need to require higher resolution. But then again I'm not
> sure what you're considering 'original.' I'm considering the submission.
> I don't think you can make requirements for source images just because
> someone might only use part of a We support up to 2048x1536
> for standard resolution, 1920x1200 for wide, but those are single-screen
> too, what about dual... so you see it becomes a bit of a slippery slope
> I think when trying to dictate a minimum resolution.
Sure I was being a bit conservative. Let's increase the minimum to
1920. One of the reasons for this is we have a lot of very nice CC
artwork on the web but unfortunately much of it has been posted at a
very low resolution. Also, we may want the option of changing the
cropping/framing of the image and we'll need a larger source to do
that.
I don't think it is a requirement to support the dual mode.
I don't see any slippery slope here.
>> * Should be provided in a 16 x 9 aspect ratio
>
> 16x9 not ideal unless it's high resolution enough. It's easier
> compositoinally to go to a 16:9 ratio with a 4:3 ratio image rather than
> vice-versa.
The vast majority of displays are wide today. See:
http://lenovoblogs.com/insidethebox/?p=220
So, I'm suggesting we should design for the wide case and crop for the
4:3 case. Pan and scan.
>> * No watermarks, signatures, photographer/creator names, or messages
>> may be included in any part of the work
>>
>>
>> Composition:
>>
>> * Should strive for subtlety and poetry
>
> I think I know what you're trying to get at with this but I think it's
> going to confuse a lot of people. I'm not sure how to word it better,
> though. If you're trying to guide people towards non-explicit /
> non-obvious interpretations of ideas better to state that openly.
>>
>> * Avoid high frequency images
>>
>> (http://forensicphotoshop.blogspot.com/2009/04/low-frequency-vs-high-frequency.html)
>>
>
> Might be easier to understand to expand on this point a bit more by
> saying it should not have too much high contrast, and it shouldn't be
> overly bright or dark either.
Actually that isn't about contrast or brightness at all. It is more
about the amount and quality of the fine (especially sharp) details.
In image analysis terms, if you use a transform to convert an image
into the frequency domain it shouldn't have too much energy in high
frequencies.
Contrast and brightness might be better to simply be "balanced". It
is probably better to be a bit vague here and allow some artistic
license.
>> - A soft focus is one way to achieve this
>> * As the name suggests, visually, it should settle into the
>> "background" of the activity scene.
>> * Fewer details on left side allows for good readability for primary
>> icons on the desktop.
>> - Keep in mind that many users have icons covering the entire
>> desktop view.
>> * Do not compete for the user's attention
>>
>
> I'd even expand this and say, the purpose of the wallpaper is to serve
> as a backdrop for the user's documents and applications, and it's a
> supporting actor - the documents and applications are the stars.
OK.
>>
>> Specific guidelines.
>>
>
> I wouldn't consider these guidelines so much as suggestions or ideas...
Actually, I do consider them guidelines. I think these should be the
way we focus what is produced and submitted, and also the criteria for
how we judge them.
>> * Default background:
>> * The following adjectives should be used to select an appropriate
>> design:
>> - Fresh
>> - Light
>> - Calm
>> - Clean
>> - Modern
>> - Harmonious
>> - Unfettered
>> - Elegant
>> - Graceful
>> - Hopeful
>> - Delightful
>>
>
> These seem like great suggestions to get artists into the right mindset
> but I wouldn't consider them exclusive nor all absolutely required.
This is one of the most important parts of designing an experience
that is consistent and harmonious - and in the right key.
I think we should come up with a relatively short list of experience
"tones" like the above (should have been 12 not 11). Each artwork
submission should strive to exhibit some of these - and we should
judge them based on whether they do and by how the result feels.
So let's try to come up with how we want Fedora to feel. The above
list is a starting point. The 12 tones of Fedora.
(updated draft attached)
Jon
-------------- next part --------------
All submissions or contributions:
* Must be covered by the Contributor License Agreement.
We cannot accept contributions from individuals who have not signed the CLA in the Fedora Account System. The CLA allows us to properly license artwork submissions for distribution with Fedora and other Fedora projects.
* Must not contain material that violates or infringes another?s rights, including but not limited to privacy, publicity or intellectual property rights, or that constitutes copyright infringement;
If your submissions include or derive from artwork created by other people, please make sure the license of the original work you incorporate is compatible with Fedora and that you are not violating any of the provisions of its license. Just because a work is licensed with a Creative Commons license does not mean it is free to use (make sure you provide attribution to artists that license their work with a CC Attribution clause.)
* Should have the consent and approval of the author or creator
* Are thereby licensed to the public for reuse under CC-BY-SA unless specifically identified as being licensed by another approved liberal open source license.
Subject matter:
* Must not contain brand names or trademarks of any kind
* Must not contain material that is inappropriate, offensive, indecent, obscene, hateful, tortuous, defamatory, slanderous or libelous
- No sexually explicit or provocative subject matter
- No images of weapons or violent imagery
- No alcohol, smoking, or drug use imagery
* Must not contain material that promotes bigotry, racism, hatred or harm against any group or individual or promotes discrimination based on race, gender, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age
* Must not contain material that is unlawful, in violation of or contrary to the laws or regulations in the jurisdiction where the work is created
* No religious, political, or nationalist imagery (including flags)
* No images of hats, particularly fedoras.
This is a matter of respect for our primary sponsor, Red Hat, Inc., and is not negotiable. Of course, passive appearance of hats, such as those upon heads in a crowd, may be allowed.
* No version numbers.
End users might prefer to continue to use an older theme, or use the latest theme in their older version of Fedora. To enable that choice, do not use any version numbers within the Fedora artwork.
* No text.
Text should not be used in the backgrounds because the artwork is intended for a global audience and to be reused by derivative distributions. Limited, artistic, use of typography may be permitted.
* Should not contain images of people or personas (contemporary, historical, or fictional)
Creation of novel characters may be allowed as long as they continue to exist solely within the Fedora artwork.
* Should not contain images of pets, or captive or mistreated animals
Technical requirements:
* Proposals must be made in PNG format (regardless of source format)
* Proposals must be accompanied by Source files
* Source files must be available in SVG format for vector format submissions, XCF or compressed XCF (xcf.bz2 or xcf.gz) for manipulated bitmaps, or high quality JPEG or PNG for photographic works.
* Any source images, brushes, textures, etc. used in the design must be cited individually, referenced properly (download site, author, license), and be available under a license compatible with CC-BY-SA.
* Submissions for landscape formats must be a minimum of 1920 pixels wide and 1200 pixels high
The larger the better. Photographic submissions should be made at the highest resolution and quality settings the camera is capable of.
* Should be provided in a 16 x 9 aspect ratio
* No watermarks, signatures, photographer/creator names, or messages may be included in any part of the work
Composition:
* Should strive for subtlety and poetry
* Avoid high frequency images
(http://forensicphotoshop.blogspot.com/2009/04/low-frequency-vs-high-frequency.html)
- A soft focus is one way to achieve this
* Do not compete for the user's attention
As the name suggests, visually, it should settle into the "background" of the activity scene. The user's activities (documents, applications) should be the primary focus.
* Fewer details on left side allows for good readability for primary icons on the desktop.
- Keep in mind that many users have icons covering the entire desktop view.
Specific guidelines.
* Default background:
* The following adjectives should be used to select an appropriate design:
- Fresh
- Light
- Calm
- Clean
- Modern
- Harmonious
- Unfettered
- Elegant
- Graceful
- Hopeful
- Delightful
- Peaceful
* Additional Themes:
* May use following categories:
- Nature
- Landscapes
- Cosmos
- Scenes
- (Region/country specific content)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_wallpaper
https://fedoraproject.org/wiki/Artwork#Fedora_Artwork_Guidelines
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