GNOME Shell Design Dreams

In recent GNOME Shell design discussions, the team has outlined several long-term aspirations for the user interface. Some ideas, like a more semantic layout for the search function, have concrete plans, while others require further research and prototyping. The search bar currently replaces the entire overview with results, lacking animation and spatial consistency.

The team hopes to introduce a search results overlay that appears above the overview, similar to other operating systems and third-party apps. They also aim to enhance search results with richer content and actions.

The Quick Settings menu, while satisfactory, has grown unwieldy due to added features. Android and iOS allow users to customize this menu, adding or removing niche toggles. GNOME Shell could benefit from a similar approach, with an inline editor enabling users to personalize the menu. The calendar popover, containing a mix of notifications, events, and clocks, could be reorganized by grouping the most important elements like notifications and quick settings together, simplifying the interface.

The GNOME Shell overview's mini-workspaces have been experimented with, including a drag & drop concept that replaces tiny workspaces with larger drop targets for windows. This idea, tested during GNOME 40 development, shows promise and could be further explored. Cleo Menezes Jr. created an extension implementing this concept, and the team aims to refine it during prototyping.

Auto-resizing windows and better window management are other areas the team is interested in improving. The "Mosaic" concept, which auto-resizes windows to fit optimal sizes, has been explored in an extension. While technical barriers exist, the team is collaborating with Cleo Menezes Jr. and other developers to refine the design further. Meanwhile, the Super+Tab / Alt+Tab switcher could be enhanced to allow quicker access to recently used windows, regardless of their application.