6 ms·

I agree with the author. I understand many of the reasons others give here for why icons could be beneficial- localization, literacy, vision issues, etc. all ar

I agree with the author. I understand many of the reasons others give here for why icons could be beneficial- localization, literacy, vision issues, etc. all are great reasons to supplement text with icons, theoretically. But I disagree that these icons, I mean those shown as examples in the Apple menu, Safari menu, or Google Docs menus- actually convey anything useful and really do prove the authors point that they’re poorly implemented. I realize it may be generational and privilege based, as I can read English and have a good deal of computer literacy. To my eyes the icon trend of flat, minimal icons paradoxically ask a user to possess a higher degree of computer fluency to successfully parse the artistic intent of the icon and map it to its function. When these icons don’t accurately convey their function (the Paste icon is a blank clipboard. What’s that do?) and when the design language is inconsistent within the same application and OS (do cogs mean Preferences? Services? you’re building a very confusing world for most of the user group types you claim to be helping.

pjot 9mo ago
Similar is the save icon, though for a different reason. It conveys its function well, but one first needs to know what a floppy disk even is!
- qwertytyyuu 9mo ago
  Nah, people especially younger ones associate the floppy disk with the save button
  - yokljo 9mo ago
    A lot of apps people use these days are cloud-first and automatically save all the time, so there's not even a save button to have a floppy icon for! The icon to say that it's synced looks like a cloud, and if you're using a web browser it'll probably have a Download button with a download icon. No floppy disks in sight. I wouldn't be surprised if there's computer users out there that wouldn't recognise the "save icon". RIP in peace
    - Zardoz84 9mo ago
      I disagree. Not all it's "autosave on cloud", and some apps keeps having an explicit save something button or option. I recently had a discussion about replacing the "save icon" (IE. the old floppy disk icon) for an icon with an arrow pointing down, for a button that saves (don't download!) a custom query of the user in the system. Perhaps it could be replaced with another icon, but not by someone that everyone would think is "Download".
  - scragz 9mo ago
    they think it's a soda vending machine
  - mr_toad 9mo ago
    My daughter understood what the Chrome icon was for before she could even spell ‘Chrome’.
omnimus 9mo ago
It doesn't actually matter that much what the icon is. It's impossible to creat icons people would fully understand - otherwise you wouldn't need a label at all. The function of the icon is to have distinct shape so you are able to visually distinguish menu items quickly in future (more you use the app). There are other factors like consistent placement that can help. This icon approach is good especially if you have common shared menu items over the OS or they change their placement throughout the app.
- VBprogrammer 9mo ago
  The IKEA instructions are generally regarded as a triumph of simplicity. Yet on more than one occasion I've come across cases where a few words in a call out would have prevented having to redo some step after later realising that some features had to be oriented a particular way - the pictures not quite conveying their intention until it was obvious in hindsight.
- busywaiting 9mo ago
  > The function of the icon is to have distinct shape so you are able to visually distinguish menu items quickly in future (more you use the app). In theory, yes. But if you look at the examples in the article, the shapes are basically all similarly-sized circles. In the Apple example, "System Settings" is circle (A gear with barely discernible teeth.) "Recent Items" is a circle (a clock.) "Force Quit" is a circle (a rounded! octagon.) "Sleep" is...a circle with a line through the bottom third. "Log Out" is...a human silhouette in a circle! (Why?) It doesn't matter what the icon is as long as the icons are distinct, and today's icons aren't.
- troupo 9mo ago
  > The function of the icon is to have distinct shape so you are able to visually distinguish menu items quickly in future (more you use the app). I wrote it in a different comment elsewhere: this is exactly why you don't want icons on every menu item. When everything tries to be stand out, nothing does. It's much easier to distinguish groups and "it's the third item below the icon" than "out of these identical looking icons one of them points to a menu item that does what I want".

pjot 9mo ago

Similar is the save icon, though for a different reason. It conveys its function well, but one first needs to know what a floppy disk even is!

qwertytyyuu 9mo ago
Nah, people especially younger ones associate the floppy disk with the save button
- yokljo 9mo ago
  A lot of apps people use these days are cloud-first and automatically save all the time, so there's not even a save button to have a floppy icon for! The icon to say that it's synced looks like a cloud, and if you're using a web browser it'll probably have a Download button with a download icon. No floppy disks in sight. I wouldn't be surprised if there's computer users out there that wouldn't recognise the "save icon". RIP in peace
  - Zardoz84 9mo ago
    I disagree. Not all it's "autosave on cloud", and some apps keeps having an explicit save something button or option. I recently had a discussion about replacing the "save icon" (IE. the old floppy disk icon) for an icon with an arrow pointing down, for a button that saves (don't download!) a custom query of the user in the system. Perhaps it could be replaced with another icon, but not by someone that everyone would think is "Download".
- scragz 9mo ago
  they think it's a soda vending machine
- mr_toad 9mo ago
  My daughter understood what the Chrome icon was for before she could even spell ‘Chrome’.

omnimus 9mo ago

It doesn't actually matter that much what the icon is. It's impossible to creat icons people would fully understand - otherwise you wouldn't need a label at all. The function of the icon is to have distinct shape so you are able to visually distinguish menu items quickly in future (more you use the app). There are other factors like consistent placement that can help. This icon approach is good especially if you have common shared menu items over the OS or they change their placement throughout the app.

VBprogrammer 9mo ago
The IKEA instructions are generally regarded as a triumph of simplicity. Yet on more than one occasion I've come across cases where a few words in a call out would have prevented having to redo some step after later realising that some features had to be oriented a particular way - the pictures not quite conveying their intention until it was obvious in hindsight.
busywaiting 9mo ago
> The function of the icon is to have distinct shape so you are able to visually distinguish menu items quickly in future (more you use the app). In theory, yes. But if you look at the examples in the article, the shapes are basically all similarly-sized circles. In the Apple example, "System Settings" is circle (A gear with barely discernible teeth.) "Recent Items" is a circle (a clock.) "Force Quit" is a circle (a rounded! octagon.) "Sleep" is...a circle with a line through the bottom third. "Log Out" is...a human silhouette in a circle! (Why?) It doesn't matter what the icon is as long as the icons are distinct, and today's icons aren't.
troupo 9mo ago
> The function of the icon is to have distinct shape so you are able to visually distinguish menu items quickly in future (more you use the app). I wrote it in a different comment elsewhere: this is exactly why you don't want icons on every menu item. When everything tries to be stand out, nothing does. It's much easier to distinguish groups and "it's the third item below the icon" than "out of these identical looking icons one of them points to a menu item that does what I want".