Glowy outlines/lines around widgets (and everything else), actually much worse on KDE - check.
Back button and HUGE title in the toolbar, completing the “convergent UI” look that was all the rage ten years ago - Check
Active dock icons and tabs are highlighted with a highlight color line - check
Android green used for the KDE branding mascot and is part of the breeze color scheme - check
Panels cast hard shadows on application chrome - check
Icons employ long smeared shadows like old material design - check (I actually don’t mind it so much, it’s not as “good” IMO as Gnome’s Adwaita theme, Elementary or old school Tango, but still much better than modern completely flat design which is just blobs of eye-searing color and nothing else. KDE icons are also clearly better and more creative that the android screenshot I provided even if stylistically similar)
Angular symbolic icons - check
KDE does NOT look as bad these old Android screenshots, and you can customize the colors etc, but it’s definitely too close for comfort.
So it’s no wonder some people say KDE looks dated. Unfortunately it’s not dated in a good, retro way, but rather in way that recalls tech from 10 years ago - half-baked Android products and Windows 8 convergence craze - that nobody misses.
This is mostly a Breeze (the current style) issue. I assume it will be “fixed” with Ocean and union in a matter of 2 or 3 Plasma releases (idk the exact time it will be ready when it’s ready).
Actually, apart from that bar taking up the top edge, it’s not too ugly and I love that you don’t need to decorate it with silly conkys or fancy clocks/widgets.
I also enjoy shades of grey and with some small splashes of colour… though right now I’m on a slightly purple tint with a bright pink cursor (kind of a Pink Panther theme going on).
There’s a reason why Android doesn’t use that color everywhere anymore. You want the impression that KDE is “dated” and “clunky” to persist? Keep using this a the dominant color.
Are there any pictures? It’s not a safe assumption. I’ve been using KDE off and on since the Plastik days (it was kinda ugly but in a charming way, my favorite KDE aesthetic) and there’s a common thread - techy, tacky, circuity, glowy - that runs through KDE design up to the present. I assume that without a deliberate break with the past, this thread is going to persist.
One of the reasons for the theme color is because it’s neutral. over 95% of the users understand that and either leave it or changes the theme without crying and complaining.
It’s basically part of the branding… as witnessed with some distributions who will ship you a Green or Purple variation… so there’s more to it than offering a fresh look with every plasma update.
and I love that you don’t need to decorate it with silly conkys or fancy clocks/widgets.