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Well, I wouldn't want to get too carried away but we're in the process of designing a PCBSD theme for KDE as well as creating at least some unique key icons to the icon set. That's a small part of it really, a very small part. In general our aim is not to just create a cohesive and coherent brand but a communication strategy in general. In terms of design, open source software is like herding rabid cattle. It's very difficult for most projects to give their users a consistent brand experience because every project has a brand, and every brand is "administered" by its own patron volunteer designer or dev team. This is especially the case with some popular desktop environments. The branding is aggressive and consequently de-brands the parent project that is implementing it. This isn't really a problem for people "in the know" and who are familiar with the ins and outs of the F/OSS scene. The more elite crowd have a palette for the subtler distinctions. My grandmother does not. So in part what lies ahead is a lot of headache and heartache in structuring a map and model for creating not only a project but a successful brand experience. I'll be writing a paper about it soon so if this seems cryptic and offensive I apologize. It's 3 in the morning and I have a long meditation practice in the morning to be awake for, but expect some more news...soon.
-Paul
openartist.net (excuse the spam on my blog)
Edited 2006-02-05 08:06




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Member since:
2005-09-11
I just wanted to add that you can expect some great things from PC-BSD in the near future. I'm working with Charles Landemine on upgrading the user experience in all aspects of the OS.
Cheers.