~t-w-/+junk/kyudo

== Project Kyūdō ==

The underlying goal of Project Kyūdō is to achieve an optimal presentation for the Ubuntu GNU/Linux distribution.

Presentation encompasses the entire medial representation, from online presences over packaging to software theming including sounds. It reaches into marketing and interface and interaction design. Presentation can play an important role in the further success of Ubuntu and influence how people think and feel about it.

We think the current default presentation is not optimal. Our requirements shall have the side-effect of revealing its shortcomings.

Due to this being a community effort, we don't have the decision power to put things into place. We will have to convince through quality.

This project will start out concentrating on graphical software theming because of it's central role and openness.

=== Philosophy ===

At the core of Project Kyūdō is the thought that an optimal result follows from an optimal process.

Be sure to solve the right problem.

Decisions based on facts are best. Decisions based on assumptions are better than random decisions.

Strict and tight requirements are good, because they restrict the otherwise infinite space of possibilities in design and make it manageable.

=== Secondary goal: community involvement ===

It would be good for both productivity and spirit to get a community involved with creating and maintaining the Ubuntu theme and icons. This should also have an educational effect. Currently the so called artwork team has only few members who are actually productive, but in the end still just go their own way. There's not much of a common ground, just many opinions based on personal taste.

We need a tool to overcome personal taste, something that can be used as measure for all efforts. This falls in line with the needs of this design process itself.

=== Project Members ===

Lead designer and initiator: Thorsten Wilms

Good soul and adviser: Troy James Sobotka

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=== Imperative characteristics of the optimal presentation ===

* The optimal presentation must further, or at least be in line with, the goals of the Ubuntu project.

* It has to maximize usability. Usability shall be the combination of effectiveness, efficiency and user satisfaction in a specific context. Here the context is all tasks directly affected by the presentation and executed by actual and potential users of Ubuntu.

* Every part of it has to be designed to our best knowledge and ability. There's no space for random decisions.

* People, knowledge, technology and culture change. The optimal presentation must march ahead or follow. It must be born out of an iterative process.

=== Top level goals of Ubuntu ===

* To offer a free (in both the economic and FSF sense), sustainable platform for commodity requirements with optional commercial support

* To act according to the following ideals (from http://www.ubuntu.com/community/ubuntustory/philosophy):

  1.  Every computer user should have the freedom to download, run, copy, distribute, study, share, change and improve their software for any purpose, without paying licensing fees.

  2. Every computer user should be able to use their software in the language of their choice.

  3. Every computer user should be given every opportunity to use software, even if they work under a disability.

* Have free software break into Microsoft's majority market share (Bug #1)

=== Key aspects of Ubuntu ===

* Ubuntu is an African word that can be roughly translated as 'Humanity to others', or 'I am what I am because of who we all are'. Read more about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_(philosophy)

* A strong, friendly and involved community

* A benevolent dictator for setting direction and making difficult decisions

* Some emphasis on translations

* Strong infrastructure (Launchpad)

* A history of brown and orange in themes

=== Audience and Message ===

The presentation, like any act, conveys a message even if you don't care about it. That would be to take a risk instead of an opportunity. If you do care about the message, you have to think about the recipient. You don't talk to a 12 year old girl the same as to a 61 year old man.

If you work on art without a documented audience, you are still very likely to make a number of assumptions regarding your recipients. Such hidden assumptions are detrimental to cooperation on art.

The target audience for artwork doesn't need to be identical to the entire audience for Ubuntu as such. You can't please everyone. One person's exciting is another's over-the-top. One person's elegant is another's boring. However, there can be designs that are admired by very many people, as there can be designs that are abhorred by almost everyone.

Defining a main audience, even if specifically only for the presentation, is likely to raise complaints about excluding people. But the attempt to target everyone implies an audience of just average people. No single person is average, though. Especially geographically.

==== Who not to design for as far as theming is concerned ====

* Enthusiasts and satisfied current users who will stay with Ubuntu, anyway.

* People who will change the default appearance in any case, for they have a desire to customize.

* Pragmatics who will have no problem with changing the appearance if it bothers them

* Mark Shuttleworth. It is his project and his approval is required to get things shipped as default. So he could be seen as client, but he's just too extraordinary for any audience. Even to see him as client is problematic, because there's almost no communication regarding the presentation. If there were, his input could still be in conflict with our findings and assumptions. Designing without a client could be our advantage.

==== Who to design for? ====

While the age range of current and potential users might reach quite far in both directions, I would expect a strong peak somewhere between 20 and 35.

Some audiences are problematic due to a real or perceived lack of certain software. Gaming is a big issue. Many artists, designers, musicians are or feel tied to very specific software.

[A]

Those, who might not even become aware of the possibility of switching themes, or who simply have better things to do, could be taken to be most important, as for them, a displeasing theme would be quite a turn-off.

[B]

But one could also ask: Who do we want to attract next? Who do we think we are able to attract next?

[C]

Maybe we should ask: who is Ubuntu good for? Who will benefit from its key characteristics the most? There's a risk to end up in a loop, though.

[D]

Target the cool, sexy, successful and hence all those, who want to be all that.

Audience characteristics:

- Age Group

- Gender

- Social status

- Education

- Technical knowledge

- Skills

- Attitudes

- Hobbies

- Goals (as far as related to computer use)

- Common tasks

- Equipment

- Environment (work/home)

- Geographical location (?)

==== How to handle cultural differences around the world ====

Get experts aboard for each major cultural region.

Or avoid to be culture specific as far as possible. Accept a western-centric bias. Leave it to spin-offs to happen where the need and ability collide.

=== Message ===

Initially, work as advertisement. Ubuntu is:

* distinct from other offerings

* desirable

Continued, in order of importance:

* reliable, trustworthy

* forgiving

* based on cooperation and sharing

Free of charge should only be an implied part of the message, bound to the sharing and community angle, because things that do not cost money are often not valued and thought to be inferior.

Prejudices we have to fight:

- Linux is overly complicated and only for nerds.

- If it's free it has to be inferior.

- It's just a bad clone of Windows/OSX.

Beneficial associations:

- Letterpress printing (cultural achievment, infrastructure, sharing of knowledge)

- Scientific process

- Teamwork

- International community

(Those who might think negative about any of the above are quite likely to not be sympathetic towards Ubuntu, anyway.)

=== TODO ===

License?

Widget level guidelines

* List rules that apply to pretty much all widgets (has to offer target area, give a hint at possible interaction, be responisve ...)

* Sort widgets by what they represent.

* Make checklists of what each widget needs to get across about itself.

How to take part

How to critique design/artwork