Ubuntu dumps the brown, introduces new theme and branding

“Canonical has revealed the style of the new default theme that
will be used in Ubuntu 10.04, the next major version of the popular
Linux distribution. In a significant departure from tradition,
Ubuntu is shedding its signature brown color scheme and is adopting
a new look with a palette that includes orange and an aubergine
shade of purple.

“Ubuntu’s distinctive brown look dates back to the very first
version of the distribution, which was released in 2004. Although
the style has evolved considerably since then and new colors like
orange gradually gained a foothold in the desktop palette, brown
has been the dominant color of Ubuntu’s default themes for the past
five years.

“Canonical began discussing the possibility of a major visual
refresh in 2007 during the development of Ubuntu 8.04, the last
major long-term support release. At the time, Canonical’s art team
was thinking about adopting a darker look with a black and orange
color scheme, but the theme concept was abandoned and never
implemented. Although the idea of a major visual refresh was
resurrected and discussed again during the development process of
several subsequent Ubuntu versions, it hasn’t happened until
now.”

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