Comment 9 for bug 450398

The whole point of the monochrome change done to the notification area icons was to *not* grab attention of the user unless there is something essential or urgent for the user to perform.
Hence the color red is used only for errors and for low battery or such events which need immediate action from the user.

A new mail/IM is not an event that needs to grab attention of the user. And there isnt really a need for the use of color to grab attention.
 - The new mail or a new IM event is notified by the notify-osd , if the user has not received the notification then it would be a notify-osd bug...
 - If the user was not around and missed the notification then obviously the IM or mail icon is different from the one with no mail.
Having a constant color [green or whatever] for the messaging indicator to show a new event is not ideal , since it would grab attention of user who has chosen to ignore the new event .

The present icons are quite different , and saying that the icons are not distinct enough is not correct.[attaching screenshot]
It is a different change and surely it would take a bit of time adjusting , since the icons now lack color. [as users were always used to blinking or color indicators for IM/mail events] Once the user knows the icons then it becomes evident.
There were even users who complain that, it was a regression to loose the color from the volume/wireless/battery icons.

A better way to do this is by expanding the icons used by the applet will make the applet more relevant and quicker to identify the type of message received:
- Use a generic icon which indicates all forms of messaging.
 - Use an envelope overlay for new email
 - Use a chat bubble overlay for new chat
 - Use an "@" overlay for gwibber and relevant

But there is absolutely no need to use color for these icons.