GTK themes are like sports teams: everyone has a favourite.
I can’t get enough of Ubuntu’s default theme Ambiance, but if you’re bored by the stock style of Ubuntu, the Bisigi Project provide 15 well-thought out themes for easy installation in Ubuntu 10.04, 10.10 and, now, Ubuntu 11.04 too.
All of the themes provided by the Bisigi project come with a GTK theme, wallpaper, Metacity or Emerald window border and theme-specific icons.
For the most part these themes are pretty and cohesive in style. With the Bisigi project having been around for a number of years now some of the themes do show their age a little. Airlines, for example, uses the “old” style ubuntu logo on the Dash button, and the ‘Ubuntu Sunrise’ theme is centred around the colour orange.
Minor quibbles, but quibbles nonetheless.
Download
To install the themes in Ubuntu 11.04 or prior you’ll need to add ’ppa:bisigi/ppa‘ to your Software Sources. After updating, themes can be installed individually through the Ubuntu Software Centre by searching out the theme names (eco-theme, airlines-theme, aquadreams-theme, balanzan-theme, bamboo-zen-theme, ellanna-theme, exotic-theme, showtime-theme, orange-theme, infinity-theme, split-theme, step-into-freedom-theme, tropical-theme, ubuntu-sunrise-theme, wild-shine-theme): –
Alternatively you can install all of the themes – and their various other dependencies, so be warned – by installing the ‘bisigi-themes‘ package.