Why does Ubuntu use this horrible pattern of colors?
I believe Ubuntu could have more new users if it simply used a more beautiful and more neutral color pattern like OS X and other Linux distributions. So why does Canonical use these colors?
Solution 1:
The reasoning can be seen at the Ubuntu Design site:
Ubuntu core colours
The Ubuntu colour palette has been created to reflect the spirit of our brand. Orange for a community feel. White for a clean, fresh and light feel.
Black is used in some versions of the brandmark for flexibility of application and where print restrictions apply. It can also be used for body copy.
Neutral colours
Warm grey
For balance. The addition of warm grey softens the combination of orange and aubergine and provides a bridge between the two.
Warm grey can be used for; backgrounds, graphics, pictograms, dot patterns, charts and diagrams. It can also be used for large size text.
Cool grey
For typography, particularly body copy. Black can be quite harsh in combination with aubergine, but grey delivers more balance while still being legible.
Cool grey can also be used within charts and diagrams.
Canonical core colours
The Canonical colour palette has been created to reflect the spirit of our brand. Aubergine for a smart, focussed feel. White for a clean, fresh and light feel.
The amount of colour we use
Our colour palette consists of orange, aubergine, white and warm grey. The amount of colour we use for community and Canonical collateral varies according to the emphasis of the content.
At one end of the scale, where the work is dominated by the community, the emphasis is on a fresh palette, the use of white and orange, and warm grey for balance. Aubergine is used only as a highlight.
At the other end of the scale, where the work is more focused on Canonical, the palette is more refined and grounded, with much more emphasis on aubergine as the core colour. Orange is only used as a highlight and we use white and warm grey to complement the orange and aubergine.
Whether you like them or not is, of course, up to you.