Cascades Development

[Thalion]

I am designing app for BB10, and I would like to make it look a bit different than default theme. 

Is there way to change appearance of Action Bar (background, colors, text color etc)?

Or I have to design my own custom control?

[peter9477]

Although they're considering options for theming things, for now there is no way to theme pretty much any of the Cascades features, so a custom control is your only option.

[Thalion]

Thank you for fast reply!

Is it allowed to build full custom-looking controls and navigation, when app will try to participate in "The 10k Developer Commitment"?

[peter9477]

Given that many games are created without using Cascades, it's certainly true that some apps may appear quite different. Beyond that, I can't say.

You might read this page very carefully and take it into account when deciding how far away from the standard Cascades experience to stray: https://developer.blackberry.com/builtforblackberry/documentation/criteria/userexperience.html Note that section on Application Navigation and where it mentions custom controls, and possibly other sections too.

[greenback]

I believe that customizing these components is not recommended. You CAN create your own components which mimic the function of the Cascades components however.

Make sure you take a look at the UI Guidelines. They are helpful.