How to Change Your Ubuntu Design

You can significantly customize your Ubuntu design to match your personal style, ranging from subtle changes in appearance to a complete overhaul of your desktop environment. The primary tool for fine-tuning your visual experience is GNOME Tweaks, which allows you to manage themes, icons, fonts, and more.

Essential Tool: GNOME Tweaks

GNOME Tweaks (often referred to simply as "Tweaks") is a powerful utility that unlocks many hidden customization options for the GNOME desktop, which is the default environment for Ubuntu. It allows you to adjust themes, fonts, startup applications, top bar settings, and various interface elements that aren't available in the standard system settings.

Installing GNOME Tweaks

Before you can use it, you need to install GNOME Tweaks. It's readily available from the Ubuntu software repositories.

Open the Terminal: You can do this by pressing Ctrl + Alt + T or searching for "Terminal" in your applications menu.
Run the installation command: Type the following command and press Enter:
```
sudo apt install gnome-tweaks
```
You'll be prompted to enter your password.
Confirm installation: Type Y and press Enter when asked to continue.

Once installed, you can find it in your applications menu by searching for "Tweaks" or "GNOME Tweaks."

Applying Themes, Icons, and Cursors with GNOME Tweaks

After installing and opening GNOME Tweaks, changing your design elements is straightforward:

Open GNOME Tweaks: Launch the application from your applications menu.
Navigate to Appearance: In the sidebar on the left, select the 'Appearance' category.
Select Your Desired Theme:
- In the 'Themes' section, you'll see drop-down menus for Applications, Cursor, Icons, and Shell.
- Click the drop-down menu next to each option (e.g., Applications, Icons) to reveal a list of available themes.
- Pick a new theme from the list. The changes are usually applied instantly, allowing you to preview your selections.
For example, to change your desktop theme:
- Click the dropdown next to 'Applications' (this affects the appearance of windows, buttons, and menus).
- Choose a theme from the list (e.g., "Yaru", "Adwaita", or any custom theme you've installed).

Customization Options in GNOME Tweaks

Customization Area	Description	GNOME Tweaks Section
Applications	Changes the overall look of windows, buttons, and controls.	Appearance > Themes
Cursor	Modifies the mouse pointer style.	Appearance > Themes
Icons	Alters the appearance of all system and application icons.	Appearance > Themes
Shell	Customizes the top bar, notification area, and overview screen (requires user themes extension).	Appearance > Themes
Fonts	Allows you to set default fonts for various UI elements.	Fonts
Top Bar	Adjusts elements like clock format, calendar, and battery percentage.	Top Bar
Window Titlebars	Options for titlebar buttons (minimize, maximize, close) placement.	Window Titlebars

Finding and Installing New Customization Assets

Ubuntu comes with a good default theme, but a vast community offers thousands of custom themes, icon packs, and cursor sets.

Popular Sources for Themes and Icons

GNOME-Look.org: This is the most popular repository for GNOME-related customizations, offering a huge collection of GTK themes, icon packs, GNOME Shell themes, cursor themes, and wallpapers.
DeviantArt: A general art community that also hosts many Linux customization assets.
Reddit r/unixporn: A community dedicated to showcasing and sharing desktop customizations across various Linux distributions.

Manual Installation of Themes and Icons

Once you download a theme or icon pack (usually as a .zip or .tar.xz file):

Extract the archive: Right-click the downloaded file and choose "Extract Here."
Move the extracted folder:
- For GTK Themes (Applications themes): Move the extracted folder to ~/.themes (a hidden folder named .themes in your Home directory). If this folder doesn't exist, create it: mkdir ~/.themes.
- For Icon Packs: Move the extracted folder to ~/.icons (a hidden folder named .icons in your Home directory). If this folder doesn't exist, create it: mkdir ~/.icons.
- For GNOME Shell Themes: These also go into ~/.themes, but they require a specific GNOME Shell extension (User Themes) to be enabled in GNOME Tweaks under the "Extensions" tab.
Apply with GNOME Tweaks: After placing the files, open GNOME Tweaks and navigate to 'Appearance'. Your newly installed themes or icon packs should now appear in the respective drop-down menus.

Other Ways to Customize Your Ubuntu Design

Beyond themes and icons, there are several other layers of customization you can explore.

Changing Wallpapers

This is one of the simplest and most impactful ways to change your desktop's look:

Via Settings: Right-click on your desktop and select "Change Background," or go to Settings > Background. Here, you can choose from default wallpapers, solid colors, or any image from your computer.

Customizing the Dock and Top Bar

Ubuntu's default dock (on the left side) and top bar can also be customized:

Dock (Ubuntu Dock): Go to Settings > Appearance. Here you can change the dock's position (left, bottom, right), icon size, auto-hide behavior, and the option to show mounted volumes and trash.
Top Bar: GNOME Tweaks offers options under the 'Top Bar' section to display weekday, date, or battery percentage.

Font Customization

You can change the default fonts used for the interface, document display, and monospace text:

Via GNOME Tweaks: Go to the 'Fonts' section in GNOME Tweaks. You can adjust the Interface Text, Document Text, Monospace Text, and Legacy Window Titles, as well as scaling factors.

Exploring Different Desktop Environments

For a truly radical change in your Ubuntu design and workflow, consider installing a different Desktop Environment (DE). Each DE offers a unique visual style, user interface, and set of default applications. Installing a new DE doesn't remove your existing GNOME environment; you can choose which one to log into at the login screen.

Here are some popular alternatives:

KDE Plasma: Known for its extensive customization options and modern aesthetic.
XFCE: A lightweight and fast desktop environment, great for older hardware.
MATE: A continuation of the classic GNOME 2 desktop, offering a traditional interface.
Cinnamon: Developed by Linux Mint, it offers a more traditional desktop layout with a modern feel.
LXQt: An extremely lightweight and performant desktop environment.

You can install these via the terminal (e.g., sudo apt install kubuntu-desktop for KDE Plasma) or through the Ubuntu Software Center.

Summary of Customization Options

Customization Element	Description	Primary Tool/Method
GTK/Application Themes	Overall look of windows, buttons.	GNOME Tweaks (Appearance > Applications)
Icon Themes	Appearance of all system and app icons.	GNOME Tweaks (Appearance > Icons)
Cursor Themes	Style of the mouse pointer.	GNOME Tweaks (Appearance > Cursor)
GNOME Shell Themes	Top bar, notifications, overview (requires extension).	GNOME Tweaks (Appearance > Shell)
Wallpapers	Desktop background image.	Settings > Background, or right-click desktop
Fonts	Typefaces for various UI elements.	GNOME Tweaks (Fonts)
Dock/Top Bar	Position, size, auto-hide, content.	Settings > Appearance (for Dock), GNOME Tweaks (Top Bar)
Desktop Environment	Complete change of UI, workflow, and default apps.	Installing new DE (e.g., KDE, XFCE)

By leveraging GNOME Tweaks and exploring the wealth of community-created assets, you can transform your Ubuntu desktop into a personalized and efficient workspace that perfectly suits your preferences.