Light font-weight for body?

[nana-4]

I noticed some official Ubuntu websites have font-weight: 300; in body. Then I thought that using 300 weight for the theme would fit more to Suru icons. What do you think about this?

Here is the adapted screenshot (with a few text color adjustments):

[clobrano]

I'd say I prefer current version, where fonts look more rounded and regular, while here they look taller than large. However, this is just my opinion, so I'm adding "design" label

[madsrh]

I prefer the current version too and agree with @clobrano that they look too tall.

What colors did you change @nana-4 ? I would like to see a darker color for regular text. Are we following this pallette now @clobrano ?

Here's a slightly darker text color compared to the current:

[nana-4]

@madsrh
I used $inkstone (#3D3D3D) for entry fields, views, list boxes, etc. and $graphite (#666666) for unchecked tabs from the current Communitheme's color palette. See also #172 discussion.

I would like to see a darker color for regular text.

+1 👍 Completely agree. :)

[nana-4]

After reconsideration, I thought this my proposal was a bad idea, because they look too thin with non-Ubuntu fonts such as Roboto, DejaVu, M+, etc.

Here's an example with M+ 1c font:

Sorry for the spam. Should I close this? Or please feel free to close this issue.

[madsrh]

@nana-4 Could you post a screenshot of the current font for comparison?
I think it looks too thin in your screenshot. Did you change the font size also?

[nana-4]

@madsrh I changed the font size to 10.5. Here's the current font, with Ubuntu Regular 10.5:

You can also test it quickly by using the GTK Inspector as follows. 😉

1. Run the following command in the terminal:

GTK_DEBUG=interactive gtk3-widget-factory

2. Go to the "CSS" tab in the GTK Inspector and add the following code:

* { font-weight: 300; }

tab:not(:checked) { color: #666666; }

entry:not(:disabled),
.view:not(:selected):not(check):not(radio),
.view text,
list { color: #3D3D3D; }

Note: You can also change the font family/size quickly from the "Visual" tab.

[madsrh]

@nana-4 Thanks! Here on my screen, this, at font-size 10 is a very sharp look:

* { font-weight: 300; }

entry:not(:disabled), .view:not(:selected):not(check):not(radio),
.view text, list { color: #111111; }

I know that the Jet #111111 might be controversial being almost black, but because of the lower font weight it needs to be extra dark. THIS looks really sharp to me.
If this is too far from the currently agreed upon design (and the Canonical one), #3d3d3d could also work, but I would really like to give this a try - @clobrano ?

I'll have to admit that seeing the linux desktop so crisp is very unfamiliar and might be scary at first :) We are very much accustomed to the gray font in Ambiance.

[nana-4]

@madsrh So now, are you thinking we should use light font-weight (font-weight: 300;) for the theme body?

However, I have to admit that my proposal was too adventurous. Yes, * { font-weight: 300; } with "Ubuntu font" is very sharp, but with other fonts it looks too thin (as shown in my screenshot above).

Compared to other Light (300 weight) fonts, "Ubuntu Light" font is a little thick. (In other words, it's sharp in smaller font-size.) I was testing only with "Ubuntu (Light) font", but I should have considered various use cases before filing this issue. :-/

[madsrh]

@nana-4 I'm saying that this is IMO the best and sharpes look.
I actually thought the font-weight wouldn't apply to all fonts - so changing the font would reset to the default 400 weight and the CSS above would only apply to the Ubuntu font :(

Anyway of doing that, or is that considered a hacky solution?

[nana-4]

@madsrh I see.
The * { font-weight: 300; } applies to all fonts as long as the font family has 300 weight.

or is that considered a hacky solution?

I guess so.

Ideally, it would be great if "Ubuntu Light" could be applied from GNOME Tweaks (or dconf) (without CSS changes), but it seems GNOME doesn't allow that so far. 😥 (Even if we specify "Ubuntu Light" from GNOME Tweaks, regular weight (400) is used for the interface. Or should we report this problem to the upstream?)

[madsrh]

@nana-4 what would you suggest the upstream bug report would say?

I know that this opinion will be like pissing against the wind but I would say, let's use weight 300 and have a beautiful sharp font. I'm guessing 99,8% of Ubuntu users never change their fonts anyway. It would be silly to settle for the second best thing for millions of users, because of a small subset of font changing users. Just MHO.

[nana-4]

@madsrh As I said, setting the font-weight to 300 by CSS may look too thin in other fonts. Also IMO we should consider characters that "Ubuntu font" does not support (e.g. Japanese, Chinese, etc). Even if users does not change the font, only characters that "Ubuntu font" does not support may look too thin.

IMO the best solution of that is changing the default interface font from "Ubuntu Regular" to "Ubuntu Light" (by using a patch to dconf). But even changed the interface font to Ubuntu Light, GNOME still uses its Regular weight. GNOME should respect the font weight chosen by users or distros, right?

What do you think?

[madsrh]

+1 yes!
I don't know anything about coding, but I don't think a patch to dconf will be allowed - if so, yes please!
I didn't consider support for Japanese, Chinese, etc.

If you file a bug upstream, could you post the link here?

[clobrano]

Sorry, but Gtk2 applications look weird with Ubuntu light

below with ubuntu regular

[madsrh]

Hmmm, I actually think the first one looks better :/

Is this the new font color #2d2d2d ?

[clobrano]

Hmmm, I actually think the first one looks better :/

It looks old to me or a problem with antialiasing, while the first is more likable, but it's just my taste. The bigger problem is that gtk3 applications will still use the other font.

Is this the new font color #2d2d2d ?

I just changed the interface font on Tweak

[madsrh]

I see your point, but I think with the darker color and only at size 10, Ubuntu Light will look really sharp and modern ;).

...but it's just my taste.

and this is just my taste LOL Your opinion is just as good as mine - we can agree to disagree :D

This "project" may require more research so let's stay with 400 and close it for now. Okay @nana-4 ?

[nana-4]

IMHO Ubuntu Light looks better even with the gtk2 app (and the text color should be darker). Just my taste, though.

@madsrh I'm okay to close this :)

I'm not sure yet which GNOME project to report that issue (maybe gtk+?), but I'll post the link here when I reported that issue.

[madsrh]

+1 I agree!

Yeah, finding the right project can be a pain when reporting bugs to Gnome (don't know if it's GTK+).

[madsrh]

This is still closed!
During the discussion I created this comparison and just wanted to upload here, in case this topic is to be revisited again later.

[nana-4]

Well, I said I'll report the issue to the upstream, but it was already reported and treated as NOTABUG. :(
Please see https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=786398 for details.

Sorry for the delay in reporting.

[madsrh]

I have a 17.10 WM where I've set the weight, font color and size and it's a absolute joy to use! 🤗

I know that there's a wish for as few patches as possible, but do you guys think they would consider carrying a patch for this issue?