Alex FaaborgUser Experience Design at Mozilla

Yesterday we received a lot of the new Windows icons for Firefox 3 from the Iconfactory. These will start showing up in the nightly builds shortly, but I wanted to take a quick break from getting them landed to post an update. I know a lot of people are curious about the keyhole shape.

Here is the navigation toolbar we will be using in the Windows XP and Vista themes for Firefox 3 Beta 3. Please note that these icons are not yet final, and the image below is currently just a mockup created with the source artwork.

OS X will be using a similar shape for the navigational controls in Beta 3 as well, while Linux will be using native GTK icons from the OS theme. For more information about the design, see my previous post The Shape of Things to Come?.

A lot of people have been asking what our plans are for introducing an iconic form, which was discussed in my previous post The Shape of Things to Come?

Before the code freeze for Beta 3 next week, we are going to land one of the shapes we are considering, which we are calling Keyhole, in the Proto theme for OS X and the new version of our Windows theme. Here is a wireframe of the form:

Firefox 3 Beta 3 will also include revised versions of many of the icons being designed for our new Windows theme by the Iconfactory. The OS X theme Proto will land on land on trunk (we probably need to rename it since it isn’t a prototype theme anymore). Linux has been featuring a native look and feel for awhile now, but the Linux theme will be getting some improvements as well for Beta 3.

Our New Zealand-based summer intern Michael Ventnor has a great post covering many of the UI improvements that Firefox 3 will have on Linux: The Fox and the Penguin

Awesome work Michael!