Folder redesign suggestion

[luisrguerra]

I saw the folder icons being updated for Linux Mint Vera and I have to give my opinion because I believe this is taking a bad turn in terms of user experience and interface design. It doesn't make sense to put a colored line on the folder icon just to say it's a different color theme and it doesn't make sense for the desktop icon to be yellow like the folders, it should be according to the theme color. The idea of using the yellow theme as the default is good and looks nice, but it removed all the colored versions of the folders, so many users may be disappointed. A suggestion of mine that would be very interesting and can be applied independently of what I said earlier is to use different colors to differentiate the special folders like Windows 11 does in which the music folder is orange, the video folder is purple, the photo folder is blue and so on.

I made this example:

current version:

[luisrguerra]

windows 11 colored folders help a lot in easy and fast recognition. This change was very well received by the community.

[clefebvre]

Hi @luisrguerra there's definitely room for improvement. I'm not sure we're done with all of this, but it has repercussions on integration and the different tools. I think we're definitely going with the lines for 21.1, but we can also consider this in the future.

Community feedback will also be valuable.

[Vlamboyant]

Hi sir @clefebvre i have a question

When are the new icons going to appear into Linux mint? I've added several myself to these repo and I'm eager to see them in the proper OS

[clefebvre]

Hi sir @clefebvre i have a question

When are the new icons going to appear into Linux mint? I've added several myself to these repo and I'm eager to see them in the proper OS

In 21.1

[Secret-chest]

Maybe make them a pale version of the theme colour?

[luisrguerra]

I made this example:

I made another version with a more recognizable desktop icon

[Lurux]

@clefebvre, may I suggest a different take on this.

---

I'm trying to understand the goal of the colored stripe here and to me it has two functions.

1. Integrate the accent color in the icons, and
2. Allow the user to change the folder color

I personally find the stripe is distracting and may clash with emblems, and it doesn't do a very good job as a color indicator as outlined previously

---

A different way to approach the issue is as follows:

1. Make the folders yellow by default, whatever the theme, no stripes
2. The recoloring option affects the whole icon, not just a small stripe, just like before

   ---

I personally don't like the idea of making all the icons different colors by default as I find that very funky and distracting, however I think keeping the option to color the whole folder's icon is important to many users.

On the other hand, I think having pure yellow folders without stripe as outlined in @luisrguerra's example would align quite nicely with your goal of making a clean and usable desktop, and I believe many people would prefer that over the current version.

[Secret-chest]

Why not use Mint-Y-Yellow icons by default and make the folders a pale version of the theme colour?

[jakoblm]

@clefebvre: I think it's legitimate that you want to move away from the old mint green. I also like the new aqua color. But as has been mentioned here: https://github.com/linuxmint/mint21.1-beta/issues/28#issuecomment-1347597222, the yellow folders are difficult to see for people with problematic eyesight. Isn't a basic principle of Linux Mint Cinnamon to achieve the best possible user experience? A strength has always been innovation combined with possibility to customize the interface to one's needs.

My suggestion:

1. Remove the colored stripes from the folder icons.
2. Supplementing the yellow folder icons with other color accents to match the theme.
3. Possibility to assign different colors to all folders or globally assign the same color accent.
4. One problem here could be that in list view in Nemo the highlighted folders (if they have the same color as the highlight) are hard to see. To increase contrast, it could be handled like Dolphin from the KDE project: a highlighted folder icon automatically changes to a lighter color to stand out from the highlight.

[luisrguerra]

@jakoblm I don't think the current color is a case of a lack of contrast problem for people with poor eyesight. But the green folders were better to see for people who have this kind of difficulty

[jakoblm]

I'm only talking about the light Mint-Y theme here, it might be different in the black theme. Also, I only use Nemo's list view.

In my opinion, the old folder colors (such as green and blue) are much more recognizable - especially for people with eyesight problems.

The contrast problem only exists in the old Mint-Y theme (up to Mint 21) with the marked folders in Nemo's list view (see my suggestion above).

In the new themes (with yellow folders), this contrast is much better for marked folders. On the other hand, I think it is a clear step backwards for unmarked folders in the light theme (yellow on a white background).

[itkfm]

Mint-Y Aqua “Show desktop” icon is in practice a yellow square (which is apparently not very “aqua” resp. blue)

[fredcw]

FWIW my own preference is for the folders to be different colours. I compiled my own custom icon theme a long time ago where the folders are not only different colors but different symbols. Of course, this is just a matter of taste and I'll admit that there is absolutely no consistancy here.

[SebastJava]

From the very first moment I saw these icons with their colored stripes, I immediately thought that it was just a tinkering so that users would not see a reduction in the choices being offered. Well, you are already offering tons of options! So many possible combinations... There is always people complaining about every little change, good or bad...

I want these yellowish beige icons in their pure form, without any colored stripe, as pictured in the OP:

I don't need 10 other colored variants, but if you really want to overload the Mint users, then this idea from @Secret-chest sounds good too:

Why not use Mint-Y-Yellow icons by default and make the folders a pale version of the theme colour?