# KDE introduces OxygenLabs for visual and UI experimentation

> **Key takeaway:** KDE has launched OxygenLabs, a new repository dedicated to exploring unconventional UI designs and visual ideas using QML.

**Published:** 2026-10-14T09:34:56+00:00 
**Source:** Planet KDE (Desktop Engineers) 
**Category:** distro-planet 
**Canonical URL:** https://fosswire.org/news/kde-introduces-oxygenlabs-for-visual-and-ui-experimentation.html 

## Summary
KDE designer Nuno Barbosa has introduced OxygenLabs, a new repository located within the KDE playground area. The project aims to provide a space for experimenting with visual details, moods, and interface behaviors that might be considered too unconventional for standard production environments. Initial work includes exploring colorful icon options for the Plasma panel.

## Exploring UI boundaries with OxygenLabs
- Hosted at **invent.kde.org/libraries/oxygen-labs.git**
- Focuses on using **QML** to push the limits of interface look and behavior
- Intended as a non-production space where experiments do not need to become finished features
- Currently includes experiments with **Plasma panel** icon configurations

## Why it matters
The project provides a formal sandbox for designers to test radical UI changes without the pressure of maintaining strict software coherence or predictability required by mainstream KDE releases.