Commons:Project Nuvola 2.0+

David Vignoni’s Nuvola icon theme was originally intended to satisfy the GUI needs of KDE users; however, it has since grown to find use on numerous Wikimedia projects as a set of navigational icons, and may soon find use on other websites and in conceptual diagrams. It is colourful, friendly, legible and sensible, but its scope is rather narrow for many applications, due to its origins. Outside the areas of electronics and office supplies, its coverage of real objects is hit-and-miss.

WikiProject Nuvola 2.0+ is a project to make new icons that will fit stylistically into David Vignoni’s Nuvola icon set, so that it can be used not just for operating system GUIs, but for all kinds of application software, websites and conceptual diagrams. The extended set should depict as many objects as possible, and (ideally) completely meet the topic-icon needs of all Wikimedia projects.

To do this, we must draw new elements, adapt other icons to the Nuvola style and/or manipulate icons at a detailed level. This doesn’t mean simply putting existing icons together, or combining a Nuvola icon with a non-Nuvola icon that doesn’t match it stylistically. (These things appear to be most of what happens in Category:Modified Nuvola icons.) Also, unlike most of Category:Modified Nuvola icons, our icons should be available in SVG form so that (a) they can be used at higher resolutions if necessary and (b) it is easier to edit them further.

We must also create SVG versions of the PNG icons: While the KDE package in PNG format contains almost 600 icons, the SVG icon set contains less than half of that. As well, in some cases the two icons do not match; when this is the case, the PNG version is usually better.

Perhaps once the project goes far enough, we can even get Nuvola creator David Vignoni on board. At the very least, we could ask him to codify for us the Nuvola theme guidelines, as has been done for Tango.

Etymology [edit]

Nuvola 2.0+ is a tentative name. It can change if there is community consensus. However, Seahen considers this an appropriate name because:

Vignoni calls his final PNG version 1.0, and the latest SVG version 0.9.
Vignoni says he will probably not release any further versions on his own[1], so he will not release a Nuvola 2.0 on his own.
Our project will improve dramatically on 1.0, more than enough to justify a full version number increase. The PNG version contains almost 600 icons, and we will probably ultimately create at least 600 additional icons.

Style Guide [edit]

Please artists! Someone write a decent style guide soon!

The Nuvola icon set has some common characteristics for all its icons:

High saturation of colors
Neat and clean borders
...

Sub-projects [edit]

Icons that do not fall into any of the categories below are just as welcome as those that do, and we may start new categories later. However, the following categories badly need artists’ attention, and may provide some starting ideas.

Country flags [edit]

See the flags subpage for the flag images

A template you can download and use as a basis for your work.

For a list of countries and their flags, see the following links to the English Wikipedia:

The ultimate goal is a scalable, recognizable flag for every country in the world. Currently there is the following set, grouped by continent and alphabetically by country.

Simplified flags [edit]

In some cases, a flag icon includes fine detail that cannot be seen in screen renderings at resolutions less than 128x128px. This makes for a blurry rendering (because shapes and outlines become less than a pixel wide). Since the fine detail is still useful for high-resolution and print renderings, and is the best match to the style of Vignoni's non-flag icons (such as ), the best solution is to create two versions of the icon, one with the full detail of the flag and one with some detail removed and outlines thickened. (It may also be useful to enlarge the charge in the latter version. If the flag contains numerous stars, try using fewer stars and making them larger.)

Home and office furniture, appliances and décor [edit]

Nuvola doesn’t even have a ~~filing cabinet, let alone a bed or dining table~~ or ~~any type of~~ much seating. There are also not very many of the appliances classified as white goods.

Note that the dresser and table below are front views; angled views would be better (although ideally all furniture would exist in both views).

Decor [edit]


Picture frame	Dinnerware setting

Shopping [edit]

Image	Item depicted	Status
	Generic credit cards	SVG version needed - as a basis?

Food and drink [edit]

Sorry, but and don’t make a meal.

Image	Item depicted	Status
	Cake (1 candle)	Pre-existing SVG version flawed
	Birthday cake	Pre-existing SVG version needed; candles asymmetrical (present along front edge but not back edge). (Color's off)
	Coffee or tea	Pre-existing

Clothing [edit]

Even (which appears to have been accidentally released without a head on top) doesn't have a neck, much less any sleeves. We have no icons in this category yet.

Emoticons [edit]

Tango has a complete set, but we can’t use Nuvola to express our dissatisfaction with what little it gives us. We have no original icons in this category yet. :-(

Icon	Text equivalent	Status
	B-)	Pre-existing
	:-D	Pre-existing
	:-O	Pre-existing
	:-)	Created, review needed
	:-(	Created, review needed
	D-:	Created, review needed
	:-p	Created, review needed

Weather [edit]

doesn't give us any precipitation, so it's a pretty dry category. Tango, on the other hand, is flooded with , and . We have no original icons in this category yet.

Icon	Meaning	Status
	Partly cloudy	created, review needed
	Sunny	created, review needed
	Light overcast	created, review needed
	Heavy overcast	created, review needed
	Showers	created, review needed (maybe a little Tango-esque?)
	Heavy rain	created, review needed
	Snow	created, review needed

Buildings [edit]

Currently, the only building we have is , and its inferior SVG twin, (which doesn’t, for instance, have roof shingles). We have no original icons in this category yet.

Icon	Status
	Pre-existing; SVG version flawed, SVG version not flawed

Subject icons [edit]

Currently, Wikipedia pages such as Wikipedia:Browse use a mix of Nuvola and non-Nuvola icons to represent various topics. This is not aesthetically pleasing; a Nuvola icon for every field of study would be the ultimate goal. The list below may be incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Icon	Subject	Status
Arts
	Painting	Pre-existing
	Photography	Pre-existing
	Drawing	created, review needed.
	Sculpture	created, review needed.
	Digital art	Pre-existing, SVG version needed
	Music	Finished
	Drama	created, review needed. second suggestion (more inline with the theme)
	Film	Pre-existing
Physical sciences
	Chemistry	Pre-existing, SVG flawed please help.
	Physics	Pre-existing, Alternative
	Astronomy	Pre-existing, SVG version needed
	Geology	Missing : ????
Math & computer science
	Computer science	Pre-existing
	Mathematics	Pre-existing, to be rated
Life sciences
	Biology	SVG version needed
	Ecology	Pre-existing
Humanities
	Languages, comparative	Finished. Note: This icon has been adopted as the logo of Wikibooks:Wikijunior Languages.
	Language, spoken	Pre-existing, SVG version created 2007-04-11, yet to be rated.
	Literature	Pre-existing, SVG created 2007/07/01 to be rated.
	Religion	Missing
	Philosophy	Missing
Social sciences
	Education	Pre-existing, SVG version created 2008-04-02, yet to be rated.
	Politics, international	Pre-existing, SVG version needed, been attacked as biased since it represents only two European countries
	Psychology	Missing
	Government/Law	Missing
	History	multiple choices: , ,
	Sociology	Pre-existing, SVG version created 2008-04-05, yet to be rated.
	Geography	Pre-existing
Professions
	Engineering	Missing
	Medicine	Review needed.
	Architecture	Missing
	Accounting	Missing
	Law	Review needed. SVG version Other alternative:
Trades and technical fields
	Handymanship	Pre-existing
	Electricity	Pre-existing
	Electronics	Pre-existing, SVG version needed
	Mechanics	Review needed.
	Drafting	Pre-existing, SVG created 2007/07/08 to be rated.
	Carpentry	Pre-existing, SVG version needed
	Plumbing	Missing
	Hydraulics	Missing
	Pneumatics	Missing
	Automotive	created 12:31, 7 March 2013 (UTC), to be rated
	Security	Pre-existing