Follow Through - Spatial Model In New Activities Button
This design proposal is a based on the discussion from os-mockups#227 (comment 1808592) issue's comment thread.
List of Issues
1. Multiple Workspace Visuals
With the planned introduction of new Activity Dot Button, we will now have 3 different places where the workspaces are visualized i.e.
- on top-bar - with the introduction of new Activity Button
- on workspace-mini-map - on overview
- and workspaces itself
also, it can be difficult to figure that all these 3 elements are inter-related to each other at first glance.
2. Overview has Too Many Things Stacked Vertically
Currently, with the last minute introduction of workspaces-mini-maps (if I am not mistaken) during the major design overhaul of gnome-shell, the vertical elements in overview are;
- top-bar
- search-bar
- workspace-mini-maps (only shows when you have more than 2 workspaces)
- workspaces
- app-bar
The overview is the integral part of gnome-shell. And having 5 elements vertically feels cramped on the smaller landscape screens orientations. So, any design that gains some vertical space is a plus in my opinion.
Also, top-left and top-right area in the overview has empty spaces which can be utilized.
These mentioned issues can be fixed with an introduction of flexible top-bar design. Proposed Changes
The Pros
- New activity-workspace-dots & workspace-mini-maps can be a single element with nice transition to-and-from the overview
- Datetime/notification+ quick-settings can have its own little widget to show more info on the overview.
- The workspace-mini-map can stay visible all the time, we can remove the hard-coded appearing/disappearing based on workspace count
- Follows spatial design philosophy
The Cons
- Have to move datetime menu to the left, and activity-dot-button to the center
- Too many animated elements in the overview ?
- Difficult to port this design for mobile shell ?