Colour was on offer since at least Widows 98. In fact, desktop themes were a thing, with custom wallpaper, colours, icons - precisely so the computer looks less dreary. If GNUStep was impossible to theme (or if theming was hard to implement there), I'd be surprised.
Information density the one thing 1995 interfaces got right for power users. Modern applications fit 10 items per screen, and most don't bother to make this adjustable. My desktop computer or laptop could outcompute a Cray twice over, and yet I'm made to feel like I'm stripped of all that power.
> A GUI can follow 1995 principles without being an oppressive grey and ugly icons
> Compare the quality and thought given to Windows 98 dialogs and windows compared to this GNU software in 2021.
The NeXTSEP/GNUstep look is a little older than Windows 98, and I agree is a little less clean looking than Windows 98, but it's in no way ugly or oppressive. In fact it was a refreshing and highly acclaimed design at the time, and IMHO it still holds up pretty well three decades later.
I really feel that even if someone doesn't like the grey-and-black look (I love it myself) that one _must_ admit it was streets ahead of its contemporaries.
Personally I think W95 looked better than W98, and W98 looked better than XP.
Information density the one thing 1995 interfaces got right for power users. Modern applications fit 10 items per screen, and most don't bother to make this adjustable. My desktop computer or laptop could outcompute a Cray twice over, and yet I'm made to feel like I'm stripped of all that power.