Hello,
It seem like there is a lot of conversation about the Icons contest. It's nice to see that many are concern about the interface :)
Many, like Michael Phipps, think [1] that the icon theme should be innovative and bring new concept. (Photo realistic, Animated icons, 3D, Fx..)
I don't entirely agreed with this. I, and i hope i'am not the only one :wink:, think that the default icon sets have to stay simple, clean with no crazy Fx: Just simple, elegant !
I've proposed the DropLine Neu set from Silvestre Herrera [2] as example.
It may be too much like the others icon sets, but it have a lot of gracefulness.

- It is cartoon-like, but that simplicity allow to recognise the meaning of the icon quickly.
- That's ain't like photo realistic ones, they mess the screen with uneeded pixels.
- In the same vein, the 3D and Fx, will pollute our eyes with informations.

So, to resume, i think that the desktop should stay almost static, animations should be used carefully, only for important informations. That's the only way to keep the interface simple, fast and responsive IMHO.