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10 Mistakes in Icon Design

turbomilk.com — It is much easier to criticize somebody else ’s work than to create something cool yourself. But if you apply a systematic approach to criticizing, make a numbered list and prepare illustrations, it will be regarded as a fully-fledged analysis!

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  • fitqueenb, on 02/13/2008, -16/+33Interesting, good info for newbies on icon creation, not a talent I poses!
    • teh_techie, on 02/13/2008, -17/+8/Spelling nazi comment cancelled...
    • MOJIRA, on 05/17/2008, -2/+21This has to be the first "10 mistakes" article on digg that was actually worth reading. Not just for newbs either.
      • tandy400, on 02/13/2008, -2/+6Indeed. Dugg for not being a "Top 10 " article.
        • championchap, on 02/13/2008, -2/+8That all?
          I dugg it for being a really very good article with a lot of insightful and overlooked aspects to icon design.
    • dasdef, on 02/14/2008, -0/+6possess is a funny word
    • lrdntwnd, on 02/14/2008, -0/+1spelling doesn't seem to be a talent you possess either...
  • kortunov, on 02/13/2008, -30/+17Hi! I'm the author of this article. You can ask your questions here.
    Btw, can you use this image for thumbnail of this link: http://kortunov.com/lj/mistakes.png
    • capiCrimm, on 02/13/2008, -0/+12I don't know about OS/2 Warp, but in my experience shred is entirely different from trash. Trash is more of a folder for future deletion. Whereas shred is immediate successive writes of random data to securely erase any trace of the file. Are you sure OS/2 Warp wasn't using the later idea?
      • kortunov, on 02/14/2008, -1/+0Yes, i know how shredder works. And i know that was function for delete without undo. But in future, i think, should be undelete function. As far as i know OS/2 project was closed many years ago.
    • dinostabOMG, on 02/13/2008, -1/+13I'll get right on changing that thumbnail.
    • noahhoward, on 02/13/2008, -11/+9How do you fail to differentiate between system monitor, terminal and console? Not being able to remember which one is which does not mean there isn't enough differentation.
    • GorillaCowboy, on 02/13/2008, -1/+11Nice wig.
    • TheSkinsFactory, on 02/13/2008, -15/+7Dugg you down, because you clearly don't know what you're talking about. When you have as much experience in designing icons as The Icon Factory, then i'll be glad to hear your opinion.
    • Osuperman, on 02/13/2008, -2/+7Personally I've come away frustrated. You offer no solution to problem number 10...
      • demesisx, on 02/13/2008, -0/+6You design them using bitmaps and not vectors. He has a green checkmark next to one and a red x next to the other...the green one is a solution.
    • rpgmaker, on 02/14/2008, -2/+2I disagree with the '#3 Unnecessary elements' example. Anyways, nice article.
      PS: The OSX iconset is the most revolutionary iconset to date and personally my favorites.
  • AsherHopkins, on 02/13/2008, -13/+7Nice article
    • phibit, on 02/14/2008, -0/+2Really? I thought it was a really boring topic for an article. 256 pixels aren't worth a 6+ page article.
  • Zedian, on 02/13/2008, -56/+1Nice read right there definitely gave me some good insight, things like National or social characteristics I would have never thought of.

    www.silentrival.com
  • raw10, on 02/13/2008, -5/+213Now write an article (with lots of examples) on how to make icons properly. I'd be more interested in the basics of good icon design. Someone once told me, "How not to do something is an infinite space. The proper way of doing it is usually much more limited."
    • jeexbit, on 02/13/2008, -24/+6Excellent point...
    • homanh, on 02/13/2008, -2/+54The great thing about digg is that instead of wasting precious forum space writing "good point", or "QFT" or quoting people over and over, you can just click that neat thumbs up icon.
      • SHv2, on 02/13/2008, -15/+1or click that neat thumbs down icon if you disagree. :P

        uhh... why do you care about how much space it takes? Are you hosting this? He took up a couple more bytes of text, big whoop.
        • djm5586, on 02/13/2008, -5/+4Because it's stupid and nobody wants to read everybody's pointless opinions.
        • JrGhoull, on 02/13/2008, -0/+6@ djm

          doesnt "everybody" include yourself there big guy?
      • J0hnGalt, on 02/14/2008, -0/+3Sarcasm is much more fun though
      • Jones82, on 02/14/2008, -1/+5@humanh
        By that logic, you should of just clicked the thumbs down icon on the offending post instead of "wasting precious forum space"
      • mowe, on 02/14/2008, -0/+9Good point.
      • joukov, on 02/14/2008, -1/+0The 10 Mistakes not only article about icons on turbomilk.com.
    • agentbob, on 02/14/2008, -3/+2How not to do it: vote for Hillary
      How to do it: Just about anything else

      I guess there exceptions to everything..
  • SHv2, on 02/13/2008, -20/+125Who can't tell the difference between Terminal, Activity Monitor, and Console? Can it get any easier? You are using Mac after all.
    • willbb123, on 02/13/2008, -9/+15and if you are really having a problem, just read the app name...
      • adooga, on 02/13/2008, -6/+34Um, the entire reason for icons is so you don't have to rely on text. But hey, if it "just works" for you, great.
      • renegadeafk, on 02/13/2008, -1/+3I don't read good.
      • haxorjoe, on 02/13/2008, -1/+3But when would these icons be right next to each other? In the Utilities folder, they are all separated, no matter the view. Unless for some reason you have them in the Dock next to each other, then it'll get confusing.
        • SHv2, on 02/14/2008, -0/+1I DO have activity monitor and terminal next to each other! They look nothing alike but for the border.
    • jtjdt, on 02/13/2008, -5/+4Also, he uses the older icons for Terminal, Activity Monitor, and Console. They've been greatly improved in leopard.

      http://blog.tice.de/a_icons/icons/512%20Activity%2 ...
      • SHv2, on 02/13/2008, -0/+8Perhaps all that was needed was a border change? :P
    • MOJIRA, on 05/17/2008, -1/+20I think the article's point was those icons get harder to differentiate when they get smaller and smaller.
      • Angostura, on 02/13/2008, -1/+9Yeh. In Apple's defense though, one thing clever touch I liked about the original Aqua app and utility icons was that all the utilities were differentiated by having desaturated greyish icons, as opposed to the vibrant colour of the app icons. I always found this rather pleasing for some reason
        • Malachai, on 02/14/2008, -1/+4Always in "Apple's defense."
        • TVarmy, on 02/14/2008, -0/+2It makes sense. You shouldn't fool around with them if you don't know what they do. On the other hand, Apple does want new users to play with iPhoto, iMovie, iChat, etc, so those should be pretty.
          • adooga, on 02/14/2008, -1/+2Yes you shouldn't be fooling around with your computer, you might find out how it works.
    • JacktheRipper14, on 02/14/2008, -1/+2I know i can
    • rentmitchum, on 02/14/2008, -0/+1I never used any Mac OS since about 2001-2002 iMacs in school. But yea, I already can tell the difference.
    • centerblack, on 02/14/2008, -2/+4Yea I didn't really agree with most of the OS X ones. Possibly because I use OS X 90% of the time.

      The BeOS and Windows ones hurt my eyes.. heh
      • jo21, on 02/14/2008, -1/+0that means you are a fanboy ;)
        or you use final cut pro alot if not, you are missing alot in windows apps directx 10 :)
    • RockinRoel, on 02/14/2008, -0/+1I think the differences in overall color are large enough. The terminal looks blackish, the console yellowish and the activity monitor bluegreenish.
  • boomybx, on 02/13/2008, -3/+9Great article. Hadn't thought of all those mistakes (for example, the "mailbox" mistake...).
  • appleseed1234, on 02/13/2008, -13/+88There's no bigger turn off in a program than a ***** icon.
    • meruru, on 02/13/2008, -5/+88...besides crashing , containing spyware, a bad DRM system, or pretty much anything else relating to how the program actually works.
    • kent1146, on 02/13/2008, -2/+19I can think of a few... like, bugs, and crashing and poor support.
      • LordVance, on 02/13/2008, -10/+3It's a bird! It's a plane! It's appleseed1234's /sarcasm tag flying right over Mr. Kent's head!
    • Xanaver, on 02/13/2008, -7/+5The Icon to a program is not a turnoff, If I don't like a particular icon I will just draw a new one to replace the icon.
      • xtc46, on 02/13/2008, -0/+2thats what I do! people get all confused tryingt o find things on my computer because nothing looks how it normally does. Except for fire fox...I like that icon.
    • ttamshadbolt, on 02/13/2008, -4/+8Office 2008 :(
    • Cloud7654, on 02/14/2008, -1/+8Personally I could get past a bad icon. A bad UI, however, is unacceptable.
    • anononon, on 02/14/2008, -1/+4You forgot to end your post with /sarcasm. It flew over everybody's head.
    • Hraes, on 02/14/2008, -1/+3re: all responders: *woosh*
    • joegibes, on 02/14/2008, -0/+5The icons for CS3 look like they took about two minutes each to design (from a blank document to the final saved icon). The icons are not only crap but they are inconsistent (font sizes and capitalization differ from icon to icon).
    • joegibes, on 02/14/2008, -0/+4Oh, and not to mention the Vista control panel -- I've never seen a more cluttered mess of inconsistent and unnecessary icons.
  • mjfarina, on 02/13/2008, -0/+14I'd like to see an article on what icons he considers "properly designed." I've always found icons to be very difficult considering they are supposed to convey some sort of action or function in such little space.
    • Protoss, on 02/13/2008, -2/+10iCal, Mail, iTunes...I hate to use so many Apple examples, but they convey the action of the program so well.
    • actionscripted, on 02/13/2008, -0/+8I'd like to toss the Firefox icon into the ring if I may. It's identifiable to almost everyone [that's ever used Safari or Internet Explorer] as a web browser icon, yet the unique orange palette and inclusion of the warped fox give it an amazingly unique visual flair.

      Place a Firefox icon somewhere amidst a slew of other icons and see how easy it is to find.
  • mal1964, on 02/13/2008, -3/+2I don't look that close, and mistakes on icons wont affect me like mistakes on processors. Thats just what works for me though.
  • borez, on 02/13/2008, -1/+46I miss the fat mac bin icon
    • Camphlobactor, on 02/13/2008, -0/+15Yes, that was nostalgic. l remember my brother dragging icons into the can to see if it would explode.
    • digggggggggg, on 02/14/2008, -2/+7I remember back when I was 8 years old, on Mac system 7(? don't quite remember) I dragged the hard drive into the trash can. Guess what happened? After about 2 minutes of deleting stuff, it deleted enough libraries and resources that even the 'moving to trash' dialogue box went blank.

      I tried doing this again in 10.0 and it didn't work. Wow, I thought to myself: Macs have come a long way.
      • RockinRoel, on 02/14/2008, -0/+1Doesn't dragging the hard drive to the trash can unmount it? It wouldn't unmount in that case.
  • animenick65, on 02/13/2008, -10/+13I disagree with some of the article. Some of the example sizes shown for some icons are ridiculously small and would be an unusable size for any icon. I also disagree with the database icon example. Its a clear and concise icon system.
    • eleven, on 02/13/2008, -0/+30The database example was probably the one I agreed with the most. You don't need to represent the "database" in every icon - it should be pretty clear you're using one without have a while bunch of icons that are almost the same. It's not the database that's important anyways - it's the buttons function.
      • ftyuv, on 02/13/2008, -0/+15The problem is that then you can get buttons within the same app that look identical but do different things. For instance, adding a table vs. adding a schema. Both are adding something, so should they both just be the [+] icon? No, they should have something behind the [+] telling you *what* you're adding.

        You could say "well you'll know because you're in the table dialog or the schema dialog," but what if the window is in the background and it's not clear which it is? What if someone (either the app designer or, if you allow toolbar customization, the user) wants both kinds of buttons in the same window? At the very least, you're limiting yourself in terms of future development, because either you'll have to never ever be able to use both buttons in the same window, or you'll have to at some point redesign your buttons, which is going to steepen the learning curve for the new version. Speaking of learning curves, since the "database" icon and the "plus" icon are both universal, putting them together is an easy way to tell newbies to your program what the button does -- they don't have to know your specific UI, they can just use their previous knowledge.

        I agree with the notion of trying to simplify buttons, but if you simplify them too much, you end up not communicating as well.
        • actionscripted, on 02/13/2008, -1/+3Exactly. One of the things not mentioned in this article is CONTEXT. It's always nice to remove clutter and extraneous elements from an icon, but at times these elements are necessary to differentiate one action from another.
  • xdevit, on 02/13/2008, -0/+16Believe color and shape are most important. Yes I know that there are people that have forms if not are totally color blind but No matter how small the icon is you know what it is. Example look at your launch bar, im sure most of you have FireFox and you know that icon by heart. (orange | blue | yellow), VLC an orange cone .., or VNC its not the best design on earth but its simple and you know what it is when you see it. Yes most of them don't help you understand what they do but an icon isnt supposed to tell you a story of what it does, thats what the hint box/balloon is for. After that all you do is look for that icon and if they all use the same color pallet you have look for very small details.
    • Phatt138, on 02/13/2008, -0/+4I agree. I think that icon design is less about the superficial qualities (e.g. what it's a representation of) than they are about color, shape, and labels. Does -my- inkjet look anything like Apple's printer icon? No. I merely recognize due to its label and the context in which it's placed. At best, I see it as an archetype of what a printer is 'supposed' to look like and, depending on the type of document I'm working with, make an assumption about what it's trying to say.

      The most important information in GUIs is still text-based. Good icons are easy to -distinguish- and pleasant on the eye, nothing more. That's not to say that elements like unity between sets and angle of perspective don't matter, but rather that they matter for reasons that have more to do with 'look 'n' feel' than with efficiency. It actually takes less time to look at a label than it does to distinguish between objects visually; the label's essentially a shortcut to what the icon is trying to tell you, after all.
  • fani, on 02/13/2008, -9/+4Nice article, but c'mon you can't tell the diff between Terminal, Activity Monitor and Console ?
    The slight color diff inside it is enough to tell you the diff.

    Icon is confusing only the first time, if at all. Once you get used to it, you don't even care.
    For eg. If I iconify MS Word App with the Firefox icon, you'd click it to launch the browser as you're used to FF icon launching Firefox. But after couple of times, you will adjust to it.
    Icons are just for association, don't read too much into it. If it looks pretty and does its association in your mind, its work is complete.
    • Cyber_Akuma, on 02/13/2008, -1/+4The slight color difference would only work for someone who has been using the system for a while and got used to the icons to a point where the colors in them allow him to know what the application is, not for someone who is new or intermediate to the system.
    • fani, on 02/14/2008, -0/+1Didn't I just say that - "Icon is confusing only the first time, if at all. Once you get used to it, you don't even care."
      So that slight color diff is enough for you to pick up the difference the first time and then you get used to it.
      Also, positional placement is a critical thing. Once you get used to a certain location for launching Activity Monitor, your hand automatically goes there. You can put Terminal icon in its spot and you will tend to click that to launch Activity Monitor till you readjust.
      I'm surprised no one mentions that.
  • VinceNoir, on 02/13/2008, -43/+7Issues (Sarcasm for humor and no sacred cows. Don't get your panties in a bunch):

    1. Author is a bag of *****... How ***** stupid do you have to be to constantly click on the wrong icon? Besides the way that icons look there is such a thing as a mental map that most of us use. You get used to the position of an icon, so you never confuse it with anything else unless it moves.

    2. No such thing as an icon that is too small unless you're Mr. Magoo (a reference lost on anyone born before 1980). Get thee to an ophthalmologist and get a prescription for corrective lenses Helen Keller.

    3. You've obviously never worked with n00bs and lusers. They need icons that poke them on the shoulder and say, "Click here you ***** idiot". Take away the extras and they're libel to start world war three by pressing the wrong button. There is no such thing as "unnecessary elements".

    4. Unity of style in icons? It's a freaking computer (probably a Windows box), not House Beautiful. OK... be honest, you're a Queer Eye consultant, right?

    5. The use of perspective and shadows is simply a measure of how 1337 an OS is. You can also boost the 1337ness of your OS if you make use of lots of green on black and foreign character sets. That you don't know this bolsters my first assertion that you are not only a bag of *****, but a steaming smelly bag of ***** at that.

    6. Oh my... you've crossed the line from steaming smelly bag of ***** to complete and unadulterated colon explorer. Icons are meaningless. They're mere there for the n00bs and lusers to feel like they're doing something productive other than sitting around with their thumbs up their bums. That is why there is something called text. I heard it on the internets.

    7. Let the feriners figure it out for themselves. If they can't be bothered to pay attention to the norms of the greatest country in America where the greatest OS in all the world comes from, then they can sit and spin! What do they want? UTF8 for icons? Gimme a ***** break!

    8. Were you dropped on your head repeatedly as a child? How ***** hard is it to distinguish between a picture of an interface element and a real interface element? Jeeeezus!!!

    9. You may have missed my previous memo on n00bs, lusers and the need to slam them over the head with the cluebat a thousand times a day. Text in icons is part of the cluebat approach. The icon is saying, "Right over here *****".

    10. Now you're just being a twit. Knock it off.

    We now return you to your regularly scheduled intelligence reduction program stream...
    • irgeorge, on 02/13/2008, -1/+17You're trying too hard. Leave comedy to someone else, it clearly isn't your thing.
      • VinceNoir, on 02/13/2008, -10/+1I didn't say comedy. I said humor. Totally different things. This was a pointless rant meant to annoy and piss off for my amusement. For comedy my writing style would have been totally different. This is basically my "***** you" account. Since I find most Digg readers to be loathsome knuckle draggers. Of course there are also the obvious goals of multiple diggs down by the monkeys and banishment from Digg altogether because I hurt someone's feelings...
        • irgeorge, on 02/13/2008, -0/+9My mistake, proceed. I only comment on Digg to make undermining remarks, so we have something in common.
          • VinceNoir, on 02/13/2008, -3/+2Ahhh... I feel like I'm in a Monty Python sketch now. Cheers.
        • Phatt138, on 02/13/2008, -0/+4If you're going to troll, you can't then justify it by saying it was a farce. At least own it. For instance, if you find most users to be "loathsome knuckle-draggers, you shouldn't bother asking them not to be offended.
          • VinceNoir, on 02/14/2008, -2/+1I didn't say I'm a troll now did I? I'd happily admit insanity. A digg up for you though since you honestly tried to comprehend. Good on you.
    • ttamshadbolt, on 02/13/2008, -2/+3You, my friend, are a tool
      • VinceNoir, on 02/14/2008, -0/+1You go around calling all your friends tools? Figures. Birds of a feather and all that...
    • userini, on 02/14/2008, -0/+2Ever heard of the elevator pitch?
      • VinceNoir, on 02/14/2008, -0/+2Yes. It's a stupid tool used by stupid tools. But if you want one since you're obviously a suckcessful venture capitalist:

        ***** you. ***** Digg. ***** all the idiotic submissions that make it to the front page. In general, ***** anything I deem to be worthy of being ***** over. On my whim. Because I am that kind of guy.

        When is our IPO?
    • pileofstraw, on 02/14/2008, -0/+2Nice work OP! I totally agree with you. An article about icons...hmmmkay. it sure makes my day better. ***** the haterz!!!! Too much geeks around... !!
      • VinceNoir, on 02/14/2008, -0/+1It's my work to prove the Penny Arcade morons theory about how nice guys turn into asshats on-line is utterly and completely wrong. Which reminds me. ***** YOU PENNY ARCADE.
  • sgoogle, on 02/13/2008, -2/+129"The icon appears very much like a printer with an octopus hidden inside."

    Best line from a Digg article I can remember. Dugg.
    • anagoge, on 02/13/2008, -9/+3May I please direct your attention to Yahtzee.
      • sweatyyeti, on 02/13/2008, -6/+3Yahtzee isn't funny.
        • Laxaloot, on 02/14/2008, -1/+6Whether or not he is funny isn't the problem.... Yahtzee isn't an article however.
  • NinjaPig, on 02/13/2008, -13/+6Vista is a mistake in icon design. The first thing i saw when i installed vista was this traslucent green theme going on, for folder icons and fugly combinations of gold and blue(internet explorer), i nearly puked.
  • sputty01, on 02/13/2008, -9/+4tbh if your so picky about icons i dont want you using my software anyway, the vista icons he's complaining about aren't even meant to be viewed small anyway (not standing up for vista here).
    • jonshipman, on 02/13/2008, -1/+2If they're not meant to be that small, remove the option to scale them down that small.
      • sputty01, on 02/14/2008, -0/+2Where's the option to scale them down then? the only time i see them that small is in the address bar if your in that application anyway in which case its written its purely asthetical anyway.
    • actionscripted, on 02/13/2008, -0/+2Well as a (fellow?) developer I'd say that if you can't afford to hire someone to build a proper interface for your application (or build it yourself) then your application is not worth my money -- considering that your interface is the gateway connecting me, the user, to the code lying underneath. It's something I'll be using every time I use your application and if you think that it is not important you need to go back to ITT Tech*.

      *Suck on it, ITT.
      • sputty01, on 02/14/2008, -0/+1Im a web app developer, that involves the graphics side of things as well, infact a lot of the time i get roped into the understaffed design department (even though its not my job) so id say im more than qualified to throw together an interface. The reviewer keeps going on about how the icons look fine at first sight..and thats all that matters, if an icon looks fine at first sight then does anyone seriously care? He's just complaining about minor issues (i wont call them problems because i dont belive most of them are).
  • maaaaark, on 02/13/2008, -6/+4That guy has a vicious haircut.
  • noahhoward, on 02/13/2008, -14/+5Buried as innaccurate for just so many reasons.
  • qwertycopter, on 02/13/2008, -3/+5Where can I get icons that don't have these design flaws?
  • nolesfan247, on 02/13/2008, -0/+29They make all of these wonderful notes, and then their 'favicon' looks like clown vomit.
  • RandomTaskMan, on 02/13/2008, -12/+7Most retarded article ever.
    Its like complaining about the Ms on M&Ms not being clear enough.
    Just ***** eat it.
  • TheSkinsFactory, on 02/13/2008, -9/+60Every single time i read one of these things that claim to know more than the rest of us, I have to ask myself "what makes them an authority on the topic?"

    The truth is. as the author sits there and question the techniques and executions of such notable iconographers (for lack of a better name) as The Icon Factory (see #2, they did those icons) and then of course Apple (see #9) I sit and get aggravated.

    Before I rant, you could say "well what experience do you have that you should be questioning their opinion?". I art directed via my company, the creation of icons for Disney.com (see top navigation icons), the icons in ATI Cataylst Driver GUI (which we did also), Toyota.com's top nav icons and many others. So i do have some experience.

    1. Text inside of icons is sometimes a necessary evil. When you're dealing with file extension icons like Image, Audio, Video, and Document icons, you need to differentiate between the different formats. Not all users have their "hide known extensions" unchecked.

    2. The shadows showin in #5 are there because the cascading explorer menu uses the default icon for that application. Are we not to have any drop shadows just because when it's shrunk down in a menu it may not look perfect? Please.

    #7. You can not take the entire world into consideration when creating user interface elements. It's just an impossible task. So you might as well deal with what you know. The stamp is pretty universal symbol for mail. The comment about the eagle is ridiculous. So what? Besides, it looks like a hawk to me anyways. Apple is an American company. There is no standard symbol image for a stamp. Stick with what you know.

    Anyway just some thought. Back to work for me.
    • pradvan, on 02/13/2008, -3/+15The Disney icons are pretty nice! ... for me to poop on
    • onClipEvent, on 02/13/2008, -1/+3I absolutely *hate* the ATI Catalyst GUI! For once i would like a simple interface with clean controls. The unnecessary fancy UI and the unconventional buttons are totally distracting and hindering. ATI is not the only company that does this, many gaming hardware companies think that the only way to attract gamers is to have fancy, cool-looking GUIs for their drivers, but it usually creates more graphical and functional bugs in the end. Examples: Logitech, Razer, and Habu.
      Found an ATI example of what i'm talking about: (do we have enough boxes already? and don't get me started on tabs and the tiny plus buttons)
      http://www.theskinsfactory.com/tsf-temp/ATI-TSF-Pr ...
      • onClipEvent, on 02/13/2008, -0/+2sorry, link here:
        http://www.theskinsfactory.com/tsf-temp/ATI-TSF-Pr ...
        • TheSkinsFactory, on 02/13/2008, -2/+3That's also a 4 year old interface and we simply revamped the windows that were there. Back then, big 3D style UIs were en vogue. Now, not so much. The point was about icons, not user interface design.

          We also do clean but colorful: http://www.theskinsfactory.com/skinsfactory/?page= ...
          If you view the animation, you'll see that there is a rendered outer acrylic clear coating that the lights shines over. Simple but still has some eye candy. There's a reason we're one of the world's best know UI design studios and it ain't because of luck.
    • JrGhoull, on 02/13/2008, -1/+7can you get me a job? /joke

      i like that digg has a few people that actually know what they are talking about...whether they are actually right or wrong i have no idea...but posts by at least a few people who deal very heavily in certain subjects make a nice change from the ordinary uneducated opinions.
    • actionscripted, on 02/13/2008, -2/+4The ATI icons look like crap, I'm sorry.

      The Disney and Toyota sets, however, are quite nice; you don't even need to read the labels for the icons to know what you're hovering over/clicking on.
    • sharkd, on 02/14/2008, -0/+4The bird in the OS X Mail.app icon *is* a Hawk. (A Kite Hawk, to be specific.)

      The article author is showing his/her prejudices by assuming that any American depiction of a bird of prey must be an eagle and, therefore, must be jingoistic in nature.
  • CATSCEO, on 02/13/2008, -0/+9Although, different Mail icons for different countries would be pretty cool...
    • CATSCEO, on 02/13/2008, -0/+2Bah, meant to reply to comment above...
  • e36wheelman, on 02/13/2008, -1/+3Dugg just for the subtitle.
  • jtjdt, on 02/13/2008, -3/+3Those are the OLD icons for Activity Monitor, Terminal, and Console. The new ones are much more distinguished.
    • cave, on 02/13/2008, -2/+2That is completely besides the point of the article.
    • djk21108, on 02/14/2008, -1/+2Apple "just worked" back then to.
      • virtualball, on 02/14/2008, -0/+1How does barely indistinguishable icons "not work?"
    • rgov, on 02/14/2008, -0/+1Not really. I would argue they're less distinguished -- Activity Monitor, Terminal, Console, and now System Preferences all use the same frame. That said, I never have a hard time distinguishing between them because I use each of them every day (and launch them with Quicksilver at that).
    • jo21, on 02/14/2008, -0/+1they still made the mistake!
    • cassaffousth, on 02/26/2008, -1/+1They are supposed to be examples of icons, not a comparison of icons of current software.
  • BrendanSheehan, on 02/13/2008, -1/+5I have to say in the case of the Mail.app icon, I disagree. The logo looks nice, and the eagle also represents your email going off to the cloud. Otherwise a great article though. Oh, and I'm not American by the way.
    • Angostura, on 02/13/2008, -0/+4As a Brit, I never new what the Eudora icon was meant to be - until I spotted a U.S Mailbox in a movie. That was an 'Aha!' moment.
      • IllBeBack, on 02/14/2008, -1/+1As an American, I am so tired of hearing how European people are so much smarter than we are, and here is a self-professed Brit using the word "new" when it should have been "knew." And then "U.S", followed by "Aha." I guess Great Britain has its own share of morons too.
        • mattmcm, on 02/14/2008, -0/+3Of course it does. There's quite a lot of retards in Britain, contrary to what you've heard. Case in point: chavs.

          Obligatory disclaimer: I'm a Brit, albeit living in Ireland.
    • cave, on 02/14/2008, -0/+1I think the controversial thing about the eagle is the fact thats it's a plain photo instead of an illustration. At a small icon size it doesn't make a difference but at a large size it kinda does stick out from the rest...
  • JRHodes88, on 02/13/2008, -10/+3I love how Windows Vista uses a white family for security protection
    • irgeorge, on 02/13/2008, -1/+14Clutching at straws.
    • carpespasm, on 02/14/2008, -0/+2call me when they use a black guy holding a TV for the phishing icon.
  • Thomaschaaf, on 02/13/2008, -6/+1That was quiet amusing!
    • Darcy, on 02/13/2008, -0/+7I was quite tired and wanted a quiet place to nap. I asked the boys to quit playing games.
  • cawfee, on 02/13/2008, -0/+0Also a good article for overall design suggestions. Before-After sample pictures are always good fun too.
  • hierophantus, on 02/13/2008, -0/+16"In large size everything looks pretty and clear; but in reality the icons are small, and under rasterization anti-aliasing frets the objects’ borders."

    Oh my! I wish you hadn't mentioned that. It's my #1 pet peeve in life. Just from thinking about it, I have to go get raging drunk now.
  • doktorrocket, on 02/13/2008, -0/+36"#3 Unnecessary elements"...not always the case. Look at the third example in #9, the "Jets-N-Guns" icon. This one needs more elements, not less. Specifically, it needs a flaming skull wrapped in barbed wire with a bowie knife in its teeth, dripping blood. And behind the wings should be a brace of missiles fanning out, straddled by women in bikinis. Put a few choppers in the foreground and then you're set.
  • StillConfused, on 02/13/2008, -1/+6Great article !! ...Now if we could only get Microsoft to stop planting their stupid, unnecessarily large "shortcut" arrows on top of otherwise nice icons.
  • EnigmaStrain, on 02/13/2008, -3/+2I find it a little pointless to show the flaws in the Kubuntu default icons considering it is linux and most linux users completely customize it to look as though it were their very own OS. I mean hell I have a Ubuntu system that you would think is Leopard and a Kubuntu system that looks like Windows. aside from that not bad info.
    • stalefries, on 02/13/2008, -0/+3If it's the default, it should be held to a high standard. Users can change it, but they won't necessarily do that. You can't assume that someone else will fix your own problems.
  • springboks, on 02/13/2008, -0/+7It's not like turbomilk.com's favicon is anything that makes sense either.
    • stalefries, on 02/13/2008, -0/+3It's a milk carton with a rocket on the bottom.
  • Ihatehillary, on 02/13/2008, -5/+0Thuper!!!!!
  • Jeezoflip, on 02/13/2008, -1/+3good points, however, its not really that hard to differentiate the terminal, activity monitor, and console icons.
  • perot9296, on 02/13/2008, -0/+2This is what the design section is about people. Dugg.
  • nusuni, on 02/13/2008, -4/+3Wow...even as a user I disagree with 90% of the article, plus the example for #1 is terrible. Even at 16x16 the console looks nothing like the other two. Terminal and activity monitor look somewhat similar.... but the console is completely different. It probably would have been best to leave it out and compare just the two.
    • jo21, on 02/14/2008, -0/+0he designer used the same rectangle and changed abit what was drawn in it come on.
  • ironmors, on 02/13/2008, -2/+3#4 Maybe it's just me - but I think the meaning behind shell32.dll was to collect ALL icons. And that means there is more than one set of icons - that means: nice shaded xp driver icons and old but left for compatibility reasons plane icons.
    • cave, on 02/14/2008, -1/+1Icon compatibility reasons? The only reason Microsoft didn't finish replacing the OS iconset from 98 to XP is that they are ***** lazy.
  • exomni, on 02/13/2008, -5/+2If you confuse terminal with activity monitor, you are a ***** moron.

    Does Activity Monitor have a prompt? Would terminal be a place you go to for diagnostics? No? THEN WHY THE ***** WOULD YOU EVER CONFUSE THEM??
    • Phatt138, on 02/13/2008, -0/+1Believe it or not, some people that didn't grow up with computers don't always understand the unwritten schema behind icons.

      I don't understand such people either, but it's true. If someone doesn't know that, "taking care of my computer" is referred to by several terms like 'health' and 'diagnostics,' they wouldn't even know where to begin with the heart monitor metaphor. Anyone who hasn't extensively used a computer at this point in their lives has still created conceptions about what to expect, and getting them to see the 'obvious' reality on the screen rather than their suppositions can be very difficult.
      • exomni, on 02/14/2008, -0/+2I doubt such people would have any reason to use the terminal or Activity Monitor, let alone have both in their dock so that they would regularly confuse the two.

        The author of this article is just being ridiculous. Look at his comment about how an "eagle" is a questionable thing to have on the postage stamp, as if America is the only place that has postage stamps with eagles.
    • sensor, on 02/13/2008, -0/+1Did you even read the article? Or just glance at it?
    • IllBeBack, on 02/14/2008, -0/+1Calm down there, chief. Maybe go outside and take a few breaths of nice clean air.
  • scoottie, on 02/13/2008, -0/+1Except for #7 all the other mistakes are fine. Seems like the author needed to find 9 other things to write about and threw these together.
  • vkiperman, on 02/13/2008, -0/+1I suppose anything can be picked apart. But that was informative.
  • milkmit, on 02/13/2008, -0/+4Quick tip for icon creators:
    If using Illustrator for icon creation (which is ideal, really because of the easily-transformed vector shapes and colors), click on View > Pixel Preview in the menu. Also, you might want to turn on Snap to Pixel (View > Snap to Pixel), as well as change the default keyboard increment value to 1px (in Preferences), so you can easily move things around with pixel precision using the arrow keys, or SHIFT-Arrow to move 10px at a time. Huge time-saver when it comes to pixel-precision editing and alignment.
  • holyreality, on 02/13/2008, -2/+5that was utterly ridiculous and a complete waste of time. those complaints are all absurd and give no insight whatsoever into anything.
    • thomeff, on 02/14/2008, -0/+0They should make some sort of button so you can show whether you like an article or not. Oh, I know! Make it a thumbs up or thumbs down button! Instead of having to make a comment to show your dislike, you could click this magical button. It would save time and be more efficient. If only...
  • origclubsoda, on 02/13/2008, -2/+2I think this guy's criticism only relays that he is an idiot. Those icons are fine.
  • lovecss, on 02/13/2008, -1/+2I'm not sure why some people are playing this article down. It's well written and informative, useful for novices and experienced designers alike.
  • phoenixp3k, on 02/13/2008, -0/+1"Each icon presents us with a mini-story with an intertwined plot." -
  • IllBeBack, on 02/14/2008, -0/+1When is Donnie coming out with a "You suck at icons" video?
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