Bug 357726 - volume indicator and wifi quality are too hard to read
Summary: volume indicator and wifi quality are too hard to read
Status: RESOLVED FIXED
Alias: None
Product: Breeze
Classification: Plasma
Component: Icons (show other bugs)
Version: unspecified
Platform: Other Linux
: NOR normal
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: visual-design
URL:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2016-01-09 08:49 UTC by Éric Brunet
Modified: 2016-05-30 07:55 UTC (History)
4 users (show)

See Also:
Latest Commit:
Version Fixed In:
Sentry Crash Report:


Attachments

Note You need to log in before you can comment on or make changes to this bug.
Description Éric Brunet 2016-01-09 08:49:29 UTC
I have upgraded from fedora 21 (with plasma 4 and oxygen icon theme) to fedora 23 with (plasma 5 and breeze icon theme) recently, and even after allowing for some time to get used to the new icons, I still cannot read easily what is the reception level of my wifi or the set volume of the speakers at a glance: the volume has two bars and the wifi has three, and each bar can be either black or grey, but the black and grey are so close that it is impossible to tell them apart without squirting at the screen.

This is a big regression after coming from the oxygen icons, where an unset bar was hollowed and a set bar was painted in white: reading the levels was immediate. The breeze icons for the volume and wifi reception need more contrast, either by changing the grey level of the unset bars, or making them dash lines, or making bolder the set bars.

Note that this is not a criticism about the breeze design; it is a bug about how two icons which should convey easily important information fail to convey that information. To take an exemple, I find that the battery indicator does a great job (better than the oxygen icon) to tell me at glance the battery level.

It is important that the breeze icon set be flawless because there is no alternative. I tried, because of the current issue, to use the oxygen icons but it is impossible because some icons are missing (such that, for instance, the wifi killswitch and airport mode icons in the pop-up menu).

Reproducible: Always
Comment 1 Eric S 2016-01-27 03:17:12 UTC
I second this! And it is still the case with 5.5.3.

This flaw does falls out of the decision to make such icons monochrome in breeze. I'm not fond of that at all.
Comment 2 andreas 2016-02-29 22:35:32 UTC
hi,

the thing is that the icon follow the icon guideline according colours and style. 

https://techbase.kde.org/Projects/Usability/HIG/IconDesign

I also have an kde4 netbook and always I use it I don't understand that the sound is mute. I understand that you are not happy overall I don't understand the switch to two elements at the audio icon BUT as you wrote it is much easier to recognize. the mobile is not that easy that's true. But do you really want to know that your wifi has 50 or 70%?

I will keep this bug report open and maybe I find a solution with the plasma guys.
Comment 3 andreas 2016-05-18 20:55:42 UTC
thank's for the bug report. I'd like to change the opacity from 50% to 25% which would improve the problem a lot.
Comment 4 andreas 2016-05-28 21:32:04 UTC
Git commit 56701aa3c173eda1a7d1e8d9e625316bb7f5b85b by andreas kainz.
Committed on 28/05/2016 at 21:27.
Pushed by andreask into branch 'master'.

update audio and network icon to get a better contrast

M  +-    --    src/desktoptheme/breeze/icons/audio.svgz
M  +-    --    src/desktoptheme/breeze/icons/network.svgz

http://commits.kde.org/plasma-framework/56701aa3c173eda1a7d1e8d9e625316bb7f5b85b
Comment 5 Éric Brunet 2016-05-30 07:55:39 UTC
Ah, much better!

Thank you!