On 6/22/07, Hylke Bons h.bons@student.rug.nl wrote:

From the wiki:

"The goal of the default wallpaper graphic is to be unobrtusive and allow the items on the desktop to be seen. It should not hinder the overview of user's desktop.

While a solid color background seems to be a perfect fit based on the goal above, the wallpaper also shouldn't be completely dull and boring.

It is very likely that a user will customize a wallpaper and even go against the outlined goal, putting a photo of his beloved one as the background. The default graphic however should only be some sort of abstract shape with low contrast of the texture. Abstract shapes work best for two reasons. First it doesn't make the human visual system focus on the background, but the items on top of it and also it avoids cultural or religious specifics. Using a picture of an animal might have such implications and in worst case scenario insult the user."

I very much agree on this, I prefer no branding. Usually keep the default wallpaper for a week, then change to something else.

Thanks for pointing this out. I have a few issues with the line of reasoning here:

I'm not so sure that the level of abstractness adopted now isn't considered dull or boring. The people I asked seemed to agree. Secondly, it really goes to the other extreme of inferring that landscapes are necessarily obtrusive or detract too much from what's on the desktop. This is an incorrect dilemma as they're not mutually exclusive: you _can_ have a background that is beautiful and yet still doesn't steal your attention all the time. I agree an animal shouldn't be used for the background, or any other very strong statement (or noisy background: i.e. a waterfall). Something serene is ideal.

I really disagree with the idea that the background wallpaper should be made to be changed. Of course users have this option, but you're quite mistaken if you think that all users customise their background. There are 7 computers in my house: 3 have the default wallpaper still. Some users really never bother to customise the way their desktop is. Furthermore, even users that customise their desktops share screenshots of the desktop frequently when they've just tried out the distribution (and hence with the default background).

The extract also doesn't make any mention of branding (which I think might even be more important than a landscape background).

Kind thoughts,