Re: [MiNT] Fugly gradient (Was: Re: hairlines)

[Jo Even Skarstein <joska@online.no>]

On Sun, 2011-11-06 at 15:14 +0100, Helmut Karlowski wrote:

> > No really, the gradient looks completely awful. Sorry, but try asking
> 
> Don't you think this is a matter of taste?

Maybe, but that gradient is made simply because it can be made, not
because it looks good or because it's functional.

The purpose of a gradient is not stand out and attract attention.
Instead, it gives some subtle "life" to the user interface. You're
really not supposed to notice it until it's removed and everything
becomes flat.

There are many things about this specific gradient that makes it ugly.

1. The colours itself are pretty ugly. Brown, orange, green and
pink/purple can be nice colours on their own but not mixed like this...
2. Some gradients are vertical, some horizontal, some are both. This
looks very messy.
3. Sad but true: Any "skin"/theme must match the original grey colour,
because so many apps (maybe most) use userdefs in these colours.

There are some really nice gradients in this distribution, like the one
with the blue window widgets and the original built-in one. But this one
is just plain ugly. Sorry, but it won't win any beauty contests.

Btw Helmut - don't underestimate the value of your work. Lots of
MiNT-users (which must be quite a lot, since my last (old) beta of
Taskbar has been downloaded almost 900 times) really appreciate and
depend on your work. So you're not doing this just for yourself, but for
a whole lot of people.

Jo Even