The “I want more colors” I see multiple times, resulting in various further discussions (with all the pro and against opinions, leading pretty much nowhere), needs an in-depth approach, i.e. it should not be solved by merely satisfying the desire/preference of a group, even that group may be a majority at a certain time.
What I mean is:
Qubes OS is security focused OS. It is not satisfaction focused (Otherwise we would first have GPU acceleration, shiny modern design trends and all that dopamine related business). So, that is the order of priorities, IMO.
That’s why the approach should rather be:
- How to relate the UI to the security concept of Qubes OS. (security first)
- How to improve the UI solving existing issues (main one being, as it seems, the organization of different/many qubes)
Currently the user has 8 colors to choose from + the freedom to select a color and full name. This means the following scenario is possible:
Have a qube named “offline-private” aimed to be used for personal files without network connection. Additionally, one may decide to take extra measures for not allowing copying from/to other qubes. One would probably use green color for that, as green is normally associated with safety.
Now, suppose this qube is changed to have unlimited network and Internet connection and one runs a browser in it. Name and color remain the same but is it still offline and private? Is it as safe as before? Will a tint of green (difficult to distinguish visually) help to improve such situation? Does all this work for or against the whole concept of Qubes OS? Does it satisfy the goal of the user who created the qube with that name and color?
Yes, it is impossible to completely safeguard a user from working unsafely. However, the above situation may be result of a problem (bug/attack), not necessarily of the user being negligent.
That said, I think clear visual cues are necessary to protect the user from his own mistakes and from acting unsafely in a potentially dangerous situation (security compromise). Organizing/structuring one’s work is good, however, if that organization is merely visually pleasing, it works for satisfaction first, not for security. That’s why we need visual ques hard linked to the actual and essential qube properties (e.g. network/offline and others). Those can be icons, borders, colors etc. Everything else (structural and functional organization, labels/tags, naming, etc) which is user editable should be a separate thing. So, two groups of visual ques:
- actual qube properties
- user intent
How to do this, what is appropriate etc. is subject to a longer discussion which does not belong in this thread.
P.S.
The book “Designing with the Mind in Mind” is a good start-up reading.