Once in a while, you may want to change the look and feel of your desktop. A common change people make is using different themes and icon packs rather than the default. This is usually necessary, as some Linux distros have barely satisfactory user interfaces. Mind you, it doesn’t mean they are nonfunctional. They are just lean in their interfaces. If you ever come across this situation, there are quite a number of places you can get some beautiful themes and icon packs. It is absolutely possible to find themes and icon packs that give your distro a Windows or Mac-like user interface. Here are some of the places to find them:
1. Opendesktop.org
Opendesktop.org is a website with hundreds, if not thousands, of themes, icon packs, and other contents. Many themes and icon packs for Cinnamon, Compiz, Gnome, Mate, XFCE, and Trinity are available on the website. The number just keeps growing: new themes and icon packs get added and updated daily. A big plus if you want to get the latest features fast. It should be one of the first places you search if you are looking for a theme or icon pack.
Note: The popular themes sites such as Gnome-look, KDE-look, xfce-look, etc., are all under the umbrella of Opendesktop.org. Additionally, the website gives you access to a ton of other stuff like cursors, wallpapers, and fonts for further tweaking. If you are looking for a particular theme or icon pack on the site, you can always use the search bar to quickly find it.
2. Launchpad.net
Launchpad is another another good place to find themes and icon packs. Launchpad gives users the freedom to develop and maintain software. Linux users may have come across it while searching for PPAs. As it turns out, PPAs of several icon packs and themes are also available on the website.
To look for themes and icon packs, just enter the search terms in the search box and see the results. The installation instructions are usually provided. Beware, developers do abandon packages on the site sometimes.
3. GitHub
GitHub is one of the best, if not the best, web-based version control repositories. It is host to millions of public and private projects, including theme and icon pack projects. As a result, you will find most open source theme and icon packs on the website by searching with the following terms: “Linux themes” or “Linux icon packs.” Since GitHub is where most of these projects are hosted, you are more likely to get the latest version of a theme or icon pack here than anywhere else.
4. deviantart.com
Deviantart is another popular site to get your themes from. You will find all sorts of themes and icon packs for almost any distro you can think of. Deviantart is home to several art asserts; therefore, to get Linux themes and icons packs, you have to enter the appropriate search terms. Additionally, make sure to check out the installation instructions on the website.
Other Sources
There are many other sources where you can get your themes and icon packs from. A general Internet search will surely lead somewhere. Some popular Linux blogs can do you some good, as well. You can also find some of the beautiful themes that we have covered.
Conclusion
You can always style your Linux distro to your own liking and preferences. It is fun and you should try it. Happy theming!
