All of the new artwork and design directions are the result of Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth and a small team reassessing the brand values and identity that Ubuntu embodies.
The team touched up on "light" as a reference point:
"We're drawn to Light because it denotes both warmth and clarity, and intrigued by the idea that "light" is a good value in software. Good software is "light" in the sense that it uses your resources efficiently, runs quickly, and can easily be reshaped as needed."
Ensuing collaboration, consultation and shared vision between that small team and the Ubuntu artwork community - over all major non-KDE spins - are responsible for the following utterly awesome artwork you will see below.