Strategic Feedback: Elevating Linux Mint’s Identity for the Modern Era (UX & Marketing)

[Pariq47]

Dear Linux Mint Development Team,

First of all, thank you for creating one of the most stable, reliable, and production-ready Linux distributions in existence. The lightweight nature of Cinnamon and the sheer rock-solid performance of Mint make it a masterpiece for developers and daily users alike.

However, looking at the current Linux ecosystem in 2026, I would like to humbly share a strategic perspective regarding Linux Mint’s visual identity, first impressions, and marketing, which I believe could exponentially increase its user base if addressed.

1. The "First Impression" Dilemma (Website & Installer):
While distributions like Fedora and Ubuntu have completely modernized their web presence and installation wizard (using modern toolkits like Flutter), Linux Mint’s website and the Ubiquity installer still carry a design language reminiscent of a decade ago. To a newcomer or a modern developer, this "visual standstill" might give a false impression that the project is not evolving, despite its cutting-edge internal stability.

** 2. Out-of-the-Box Aesthetics vs. Manual Customization:**
Linux Mint is incredibly powerful, but its default, out-of-the-box appearance (the default themes, padding, and font rendering) feels dated compared to the sleek, modern UIs of Windows 11, macOS, or vanilla GNOME. While Mint is highly customizable, modern users and developers seek an elegant, premium, and inspiring workspace immediately after installation, without spending hours tweaking themes.

The Proposal:
What if Linux Mint adopted a bold refresh?

• A modernized official website that showcases features dynamically (similar to openSUSE’s approach).
• A visual overhaul of the default Cinnamon theme (modern typography, subtle shadows, rounded corners, and cleaner padding) to look contemporary right out of the box.

By combining Mint’s legendary, unmatched stability with a fresh, modern aesthetic, you wouldn't just be maintaining a great OS—you would be dominating the desktop Linux market and capturing the massive wave of users transitioning from older systems.

Thank you for your time, dedication, and for keeping the desktop Linux experience practical and reliable.

Best regards,
Abdullah Bamatraf

[Jopp-gh]

Nice post. And I agree, Mint should "look" more modern.

I myself don't like commercial OS counterparts as examples but I dislike also poor design choices in general, let me explain why:

One point I wanna add is that styling isn't just about cosmetics, but functionality.
Functionality means for me, to not follow design trends but to understand instead how to tint, highlight, place, add spacing, resize UI elements and how activate buttons depending on users focus, users needs, users experience in using technology.

Example, a new user has to get comfortable with a ton of new features and needs "more manual interaction".

Whereas an expert user needs a "minimalistic interface" with just a "selected palette" of features to take away trivial, manual work. User requirements change dramatically, if you write your own plugins/apps at a later time.

If Design doesn't follow function, we're talking about subjective, speculative, nebulous aesthetics that differ completely from one to another user.

Since most people get used to some design, mosty defined by their first impression after buying their first computer, the general belief is that commercial user interfaces are automatically superior and reference to everything that comes after.

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Similar discussion about brand identity:
https://github.com/orgs/linuxmint/discussions/36

[Pariq47]

Thank you for this insightful analysis. I completely agree with your core principle: "Design must follow function," and I'm definitely not advocating for Linux Mint to blindly copy modern commercial OS trends just for the sake of cosmetics. My point is that Linux Mint’s current UI isn't just "classic"; it suffers from poor design choices in typography, inconsistent padding, and a lack of visual hierarchy that actually hinders functionality and focus. A modern UI refresh doesn't mean adding bloated animations or heavy transparency; instead, it means utilizing modern layout principles to improve the user's focus. For instance, clean typography, precise spacing, and a well-thought-out default dark theme can drastically reduce eye strain for developers who spend hours looking at the screen. A minimalist, polished environment helps the interface "disappear" into the background, which is exactly what an expert user needs to stay productive. We don't need Mint to look like macOS or Windows 11. We need Mint to look like a premium, highly refined version of Linux Mint. When the out-of-the-box experience looks polished and professional, it builds instant trust in the system's underlying capabilities, welcoming both new users and seasoned developers alike. في الثلاثاء، ١٦ يونيو، ٢٠٢٦ ١٢:٢٠ م Jopp-gh ***@***.***> كتب:

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Nice post. And I agree, Mint should "look" more modern. I myself don't like commercial OS counterparts as examples but I dislike also poor design choices in general, let me explain why: One point I wanna add is that styling isn't just about cosmetics, but functionality. Functionality means for me, to not follow design trends but to understand instead how to tint, highlight, place, add spacing, resize UI elements and how activate buttons depending on users focus, users needs, users experience in using technology. Example, a new user has to get comfortable with a ton of new features and needs "more manual interaction". Whereas an expert user needs a "minimalistic interface" with just a "selected palette" of features to take away trivial, manual work. User requirements change dramatically, if you write your own plugins/apps at a later time. If Design doesn't follow function, we're talking about subjective, speculative, nebulous aesthetics that differ completely from one to another user. Since most people get used to some design, mosty defined by their first impression after buying their first computer, the general belief is that commercial user interfaces are automatically superior and reference to everything that comes after. ------------------------------ Similar discussion about brand identity: #36 — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#1569?email_source=notifications&email_token=BI33OWBNOK3YRPNBBDKXZW35AEGNFA5CNFSNUABIM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2ENFZWG5LTONUW63SDN5WW2ZLOOQXTCNZTGIYDCMZVUZZGKYLTN5XKMYLVORUG64VFMV3GK3TUVRTG633UMVZF6Y3MNFRWW#discussioncomment-17320135>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/BI33OWGJAHFYPPZCYNITGZT5AEGNFAVCNFSNUABIKJSXA33TNF2G64TZHM3DGNJYGE3TAOBRHNCGS43DOVZXG2LPNY5TCMBSGYYTQOJYUF3AE> . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[Secret-chest]

It must stay customisable. Anyways, Flutter is not a prerequisite for modernity, and is not fit for desktops; it only recently gained multiple-window support, you can scroll by dragging with the mouse...

[Pariq47]

Thanks for the tip! but you shoud fix symbolic icons, like Wifi, battery, sound It's not change when I change icons to anither like papprios and I'm surry about my Engliah It's bad becouse I'm learning it now 😅 في الجمعة، ١٩ يونيو، ٢٠٢٦ ١٠:٤٤ م roundabout-host.com < ***@***.***> كتب:

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It must stay customisable. Anyways, Flutter is not a prerequisite for modernity, and is not fit for desktops; it only recently gained multiple-window support, you can scroll by dragging with the mouse... — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#1569?email_source=notifications&email_token=BI33OWFIR6YQIL2J6HWN4ID5AWJ2DA5CNFSNUABIM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2ENFZWG5LTONUW63SDN5WW2ZLOOQXTCNZTGY4DKMRSUZZGKYLTN5XKMYLVORUG64VFMV3GK3TUVRTG633UMVZF6Y3MNFRWW#discussioncomment-17368522>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/BI33OWBF6727CEFU36CZDD35AWJ2DAVCNFSNUABIKJSXA33TNF2G64TZHM3DGNJYGE3TAOBRHNCGS43DOVZXG2LPNY5TCMBSGYYTQOJYUF3AE> . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[JosephMcc]

That's because Cinnamon now uses custom named icons that are different from other DE's. Your icon theme will need to support the new icon names for it to work.

[JosephMcc]

A visual overhaul of the default Cinnamon theme (modern typography, subtle shadows, rounded corners, and cleaner padding) to look contemporary right out of the box.

This is easy to say and 50 people will interpret it 50 different ways. Actual example would be much better but everyone will still just argue over it.

[Pariq47]

Thanks for your reply, Joseph! I understand your point about how tastes differ. What I mean by 'contemporary' is something with cleaner, smoother, and more modern designs, just like the Papirus or Yaru themes. A big example is the new custom symbolic status icons in Cinnamon 22.3 (like Wifi, volume, and battery). Because they now have unique names, standard modern themes like Papirus don't fully apply to the panel anymore, leaving the default ones stuck. The current default icons look a bit thick and sharp, while themes like Papirus offer softer curves, rounded shapes, and clean colors (like green for charging status). Making the default system icons look that minimal and refined, or keeping standard naming compatibility, would be a huge step forward. I will attach some screenshots from Papirus to show you the visual difference. Thanks for listening to the community! [image: image.png] [image: image.png] [image: image.png] ‫في الأحد، 21 يونيو 2026 في 4:08 ص تمت كتابة ما يلي بواسطة ‪JosephMcc‬‏ <‪ ***@***.***‬‏>:‬

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A visual overhaul of the default Cinnamon theme (modern typography, subtle shadows, rounded corners, and cleaner padding) to look contemporary right out of the box. This is easy to say and 50 people will interpret it 50 different ways. Actual example would be much better but everyone will still just argue over it. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#1569?email_source=notifications&email_token=BI33OWBPPIGUQBVZBH6QI7D5A4YRRA5CNFSNUABIM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2ENFZWG5LTONUW63SDN5WW2ZLOOQXTCNZTG44DEMRQUZZGKYLTN5XKMYLVORUG64VFMV3GK3TUVRTG633UMVZF6Y3MNFRWW#discussioncomment-17378220>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/BI33OWHJUV5XUVJ35R5QFLD5A4YRRAVCNFSNUABIKJSXA33TNF2G64TZHM3DGNJYGE3TAOBRHNCGS43DOVZXG2LPNY5TCMBSGYYTQOJYUF3AE> . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[Pariq47]

I don't preffer this icons and I can't change it. [image: image.png] ‫في الأحد، 21 يونيو 2026 في 9:14 ص تمت كتابة ما يلي بواسطة الكندي <‪ ***@***.***‬‏>:‬

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Thanks for your reply, Joseph! I understand your point about how tastes differ. What I mean by 'contemporary' is something with cleaner, smoother, and more modern designs, just like the Papirus or Yaru themes. A big example is the new custom symbolic status icons in Cinnamon 22.3 (like Wifi, volume, and battery). Because they now have unique names, standard modern themes like Papirus don't fully apply to the panel anymore, leaving the default ones stuck. The current default icons look a bit thick and sharp, while themes like Papirus offer softer curves, rounded shapes, and clean colors (like green for charging status). Making the default system icons look that minimal and refined, or keeping standard naming compatibility, would be a huge step forward. I will attach some screenshots from Papirus to show you the visual difference. Thanks for listening to the community! [image: image.png] [image: image.png] [image: image.png] ‫في الأحد، 21 يونيو 2026 في 4:08 ص تمت كتابة ما يلي بواسطة ‪JosephMcc‬‏ <‪ ***@***.***‬‏>:‬ > A visual overhaul of the default Cinnamon theme (modern typography, > subtle shadows, rounded corners, and cleaner padding) to look contemporary > right out of the box. > > This is easy to say and 50 people will interpret it 50 different ways. > Actual example would be much better but everyone will still just argue over > it. > > — > Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub > <#1569?email_source=notifications&email_token=BI33OWBPPIGUQBVZBH6QI7D5A4YRRA5CNFSNUABIM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2ENFZWG5LTONUW63SDN5WW2ZLOOQXTCNZTG44DEMRQUZZGKYLTN5XKMYLVORUG64VFMV3GK3TUVRTG633UMVZF6Y3MNFRWW#discussioncomment-17378220>, > or unsubscribe > <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/BI33OWHJUV5XUVJ35R5QFLD5A4YRRAVCNFSNUABIKJSXA33TNF2G64TZHM3DGNJYGE3TAOBRHNCGS43DOVZXG2LPNY5TCMBSGYYTQOJYUF3AE> > . > You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: > ***@***.*** > com> >

[Jopp-gh]

@Pariq47
You need to upload images to imgur or another image hosting service of your choice to add proper image links in this thread.

[Pariq47]

imgur website blocked in my country But all I want to say is that you should make the system's default icons support xsi update like Mint-Y/L and papirus for more better look like mint 22.2 and 22.1 في الأحد، ٢١ يونيو، ٢٠٢٦ ٥:١٥ م Jopp-gh ***@***.***> كتب:

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@Pariq47 <https://github.com/Pariq47> You need to upload images to imgur <https://imgur.com/upload> or another image hosting service of your choice to add proper image links in this thread. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#1569?email_source=notifications&email_token=BI33OWGOGW277YGDLBBULO35A7UYDA5CNFSNUABIM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2ENFZWG5LTONUW63SDN5WW2ZLOOQXTCNZTHAZDANBZUZZGKYLTN5XKO3LFNZ2GS33OUVSXMZLOOSWGM33PORSXEX3DNRUWG2Y#discussioncomment-17382049>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/BI33OWGHEH2H4JTIQWYUVTD5A7UYDAVCNFSNUABIKJSXA33TNF2G64TZHM3DGNJYGE3TAOBRHNCGS43DOVZXG2LPNY5TCMBSGYYTQOJYUF3AE> . You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>