The Oxygen Project is a project created to give a visual refresh to KDE Plasma Workspaces.

It consists of a set of computer icons, a window decoration

Window decoration

In graphical computing, window decorations are provided by window managers to improve the usability of a multi-windowed desktop. They typically consist of a title bar along the top of each window and a minimal border around the other three sides, although this can often be varied upon if the user...

 for KWin

KWin

KWin is a window manager for the X Window System. It is an integral part of the KDE Software Compilation, although it can be used on its own or with other desktop environments.- History :- Look and feel :...

, widget toolkit

Widget toolkit

In computing, a widget toolkit, widget library, or GUI toolkit is a set of widgets for use in designing applications with graphical user interfaces...

 themes

Theme (computing)

In computing, a theme is a preset package containing graphical appearance details, used to customize the look and feel of an operating system, widget set or window manager....

 for GTK and Qt, and two themes for KDE Plasma Workspaces.

The Oxygen theme set is used by default for Plasma Workspaces in most Linux distribution

Linux distribution

A Linux distribution is a member of the family of Unix-like operating systems built on top of the Linux kernel. Such distributions are operating systems including a large collection of software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, media players, and database applications...

s, like Fedora

Fedora (operating system)

Fedora is a RPM-based, general purpose collection of software, including an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat...

, Kubuntu

Kubuntu

Kubuntu is an official derivative of the Ubuntu operating system using the KDE Plasma Desktop instead of the Unity graphical environment. It is part of the Ubuntu project and uses the same underlying system. It is possible to install both the KDE Plasma Desktop as well as the Unity desktop on...

, and openSUSE

OpenSUSE

openSUSE is a general purpose operating system built on top of the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported openSUSE Project and sponsored by SUSE...

.

History

The original purpose was to create a new set of icons but expanded to include a new theme, which included a new cursor, widget and window theme, and sounds. It represents a break with the cartoonish look of previous K Desktop Environment 3 graphics and iconsets, adopting a more photo-realistic style. One of the overall goals of Oxygen was to provide a nice looking desktop that did not distract the user, so the icons and themes use a desaturated color palette. The name Oxygen came from a joke between the developers that they wanted to ”bring a breath of fresh air to the desktop”.

4.0

• Plasma theme is mostly black with white text.

4.1

• Use of gradient lines in the Plasma theme.
• KWin decoration features an emboss look
  Image embossing
  Image embossing is a computer graphics technique in which each pixel of an image is replaced either by a highlight or a shadow, depending on light/dark boundaries on the original image. Low contrast areas are replaced by a gray background. The filtered image will represent the rate of color change...
  
  .

4.2

• Vertical gradients and use of transparency in Plasma theme when using composite effects
  Compositing window manager
  A compositing window manager is a type of window manager. A window manager is software that draws a graphical user interface on a computer display – it positions windows, draws additional elements on windows , and controls how windows interact with each other, and with the rest of the desktop...
  
  , blue tint without compositing.
• KWin decoration looks more 3-dimensional.

4.3

• A new bright Plasma theme, Air, becomes default.

4.4

• Usability work, like animations for the widget theme.
• New and reworked icons – mostly for toolbar
  Toolbar
  In a graphical user interface, on a computer monitor, a toolbar is a GUI widget on which on-screen buttons, icons, menus, or other input or output elements are placed. Toolbars are seen in office suites, graphics editors, and web browsers...
  
  s.
• Window decoration no longer embossed.

4.5

• Monochrome icons for Air and Oxygen Plasma themes.

Standardization

The Oxygen Project aims to offer standard icons, guidelines and a style guide. It builds on the freedesktop.org

Freedesktop.org

freedesktop.org is a project to work on interoperability and shared base technology for free software desktop environments for the X Window System on Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. It was founded by Havoc Pennington from Red Hat in March 2000.The organisation focuses on the user....

 Standard Icon Naming Specification and Standard Icon Theme, allowing consistency across applications. There is an ongoing effort for supporting these specifications in different desktops, and by different iconsets and themes, such as the Tango Desktop Project

Tango Desktop Project

]The Tango Desktop Project is an open-source initiative to create a set of design guidelines and to provide a consistent user experience for applications on desktop environments. The project has created a set of icons known as the Tango Icon Library, which is described as a "proof of concept"...

.

People

• Nuno Pinheiro
  Nuno Pinheiro (artist)
  Nuno Pinheiro is a Portuguese graphic designer and illustrator. He specializes in iconography, themes and user interface design. Nuno's works include general illustrations, UI design, Web design, corporate design as well as other work's in creative areas...
  
   (current coordinator)
• David Vignoni
  David Vignoni
  David Vignoni is a graphical artist who specialises in icon design.Vignoni is the creator of the Nuvola icon set, which have been used in many projects including script.aculo.us and Prototype JavaScript Framework. He has designed icons for several web sites, including , , and...
  
   (founder)
• Kenneth Wimer (founder)

See also

• Tango Desktop Project
  Tango Desktop Project
  ]The Tango Desktop Project is an open-source initiative to create a set of design guidelines and to provide a consistent user experience for applications on desktop environments. The project has created a set of icons known as the Tango Icon Library, which is described as a "proof of concept"...
  
   – developers of a public domain
  Public domain
  Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
  
  icon set