Newly proposed 'A' icon doesn't fit with 'Ubuntu Software Center' name

[Insperatus]

The newly proposed icon for the 13.04 'Ubuntu Software Center' is an 'A' with the horizontal part being depicted as a partially completed progress bar. Keeping the title 'Ubuntu Software Center' doesn't connect the 'A' icon to the application or its functionality. Unnecessary branding also gets in the way of communicating the idea of a software finder/installer.

Solution:

Change 'Ubuntu Software Center' to 'App Center' - change progress bars/animation

-- Change the Name --

The proposed icon will make sense if the 'Ubuntu Software Center' becomes just the 'App Center'. Among other possible alternatives are: App Commons, App Deli, App Market, App Shop, App Mall, App Market, etc.

Dropping 'Ubuntu' from the title helps users realize the application's function. 'Ubuntu Software' - sounds like it has software for the OS, not apps for the user. No need for branding to get in the way of communicating the idea of a software finder/installer.

-- Change the Animation --

- Progress bar overlay

The launcher panel progress bars which (in 12.10) appear overlaid on icons of individual apps undergoing current installation are removed and a 'global progress bar' is overlaid onto the 'App Center' icon indicating overall progress. e.g. When installing multiple apps it indicates combined installation progress.

During installation of apps the horizontal (static) 'progress bar' of the 'A' in the mockup icon will now appear to be animated due to the overlaid 'global progress bar'.

- New Icon Animation

A new animation indicates completion of installation - the new app icon coming out from the right-hand side of the 'App Center' icon. It appears to squeeze out of the progress bar and then slides down to its new place on the launcher panel.

With these changes, our new icon now galvanizes the idea of what the 'Ubuntu Software Center' - the 'App Center' - does. It installs apps.

[Insperatus (jamespaulharding)]

 The 'A' standing for 'App' also helps to mitigate concerns about the iconography excluding users of non-english or non-latin based languages since the word app is well recognized in tech communities worldwide.

[Paul Sladen (sladen)]

James: to clarify, is your proposal to rebrand "Ubuntu Software Centre" as "Ubuntu App Store"/"Ubuntu App Centre"?

[Insperatus (jamespaulharding)]

Part of my suggestion is dropping the word "Ubuntu" from the official title altogether - leaving it just "App Center" or "App Centre" if you prefer. The extraneous branding dilutes the user's idea of the application's functions.

[Nekhelesh Ramananthan (nik90)]

Insperatus: The word App center cannot be used since it is trademark of Apple. I remember sometime back when they sent a legal mail to some website which used that exact wording.

[Insperatus (jamespaulharding)]

*Citation needed

I don't think so. Paul Sladen misquoted me above when he wrote 'App Store' which is Apple's trademark and probably what you're thinking of. Even if trademark were the case, which google says it isn't, then it would be easily amended.

The biggest point is to replace the word 'Software' with 'App' for uniformity with the new icon set as well as universality since the word 'App' is well recognized even among non-english speakers. In this case if the 'App Center' is trademarked, it could just as easily become 'App Shop', 'App Hub', 'App Access', 'App Spot', 'App Junction', or any number of more suitable alternatives.

[Paul Sladen (sladen)]

James: I think that's the clarification I was after :). So your proposal is to rebrand "Ubuntu Software Centre" as "Ubuntu App Centre"?

(Regarding the "Ubuntu prefix", IIRC mpt had a bug filed about Update Manager not having Ubuntu-specific branding, and the confusion this had been found to cause to Users as they were unsure as to whether it was "genuine").

[Suhaimi Ghazali (serdotlinecho)]

This my take on "App" word. Ubuntu is targeting mobile platform;tablet, errmm...phone?, TV... The "app" word kinda relevant and suitable to use these days. When the user use the tablet/smartphone, it's like "install this app, this app really cool". Doesn't it really weird when you saying "What 'software' is this on your Ubuntu tablet, where can i get this?" and the answer, "Install this 'software' on your ubuntu tablet from Ubuntu Software Center" , "Tap on that A icon", "What is the name of this A icon? Ubuntu Software Center? Why is it the icon is A? A is for App?" ...Now that doesn't sound right to me at all.