Because I’m not entirely lazy you may have noticed that most articles that appear on this site, if they’re about an app, feature or prominent bug fix, feature a screenshot or two.
And in those screenshots you get to see my (hastily tidied) desktop.
Yesterday I wrote about the new version of Franz, the desktop messaging client. In the comments to that article a bunch of you asked what icon set I’m using.
Because this happens a lot I figured I’d write a post about the icon theme. That way, when I see anyone ask in future, I can link them here instead of writing about the full apt-get commands.
Kylin Icon Theme
‘Kylin Icon Theme’ is the icon pack you’ve all been asking about.
The set, partly inspired by the ‘suru’ icon theme used on Ubuntu Phone, is available to install on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (or later) direct from Ubuntu Software:
But be aware that installing this may also pull in a bunch of other Kylin-themed cruft, including Plymouth boot screen, GTK theme, and more.
A far cleaner way to install the icon theme is to download the archive below, extract it, and move the ‘ubuntukylin-icon-theme’ folder in ‘/data/usr/share/icons/’ to the hidden ‘~/.icons’ folder in your home directory (you may need to press Ctrl+H to see this).
I’ve Installed it. Now What?
To set the Kylin Icon Theme as your default icon pack on Ubuntu you need to use an app like Unity Tweak Tool. This handy utility is free and, like this icon pack, is available to install straight from Ubuntu Software:
This Question Used To Be Common
Back in the early days of this site (we’ve been around for almost 8 years, believe it or not) this question was a mainstay of our comment section. Without fail, no matter the post, someone would ask.
And as I would regularly swap between GTK themes, icon sets, fonts, wallpapers and conky themes back then, the exact makeup of my desktop from post-to-post was often kaleidoscopic!
Sometime around 2013 I consciously decided that this wasn’t a good idea. I figured I should use a uniform desktop setup in all app screenshots. This, I reasoned, would be consistent and reduce confusion among new users as they’d see in my posts exactly what they see on their desktop.
Yeah, well, screw that.
For these past 10 months (or thereabouts) I’ve disregarded this self-imposed limitation. Why? Cos frankly the hassle of having to log in to a separate session just to take a screenshot had a hit on my enthusiasm. I was no longer trying new themes or icon sets, or skipping coverage of an app because it meant disrupting whatever I was doing.
Now, once again, I post screenshots of things on my desktop, regardless of the theme or icon set I’m using.
The sort of user who’d get confused seeing a different theme to the one they use probably isn’t the sort of user who spends time reading sites like mine!
P.S. Help Us Fill These Pages
This post also acts a friendly reminder to all the theme makers, icon designers and developer whizz-kids out there: don’t hesitate to ping me with a link to something you’re working on either on Twitter, Google+, the tip-form at the top of this page, or via old-fashioned (but always efficient) email: joey [at] ohso [dot] io.
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