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McDonald’s Universal Icons for 109 Countries [pdf]

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Re: McDonald’s Universal Icons for 109 Countries [pdf]

#121

Post by k__ »

throwaway2048 wrote: post #86
Eric_WVGG wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A heretical opinion, but one I agree with. I feel like the success of iOS and Android proves that the world of windows and icons from desktop computers was fine for nerds but ultimately a failure for mainstream use. hell, just look at fabric instruction icons… https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/a0/6b/b9/a06bb91bc...

The problem here is separating what made ios/android successful and what was merely incidental, or even harmful. eg. Steve jobs was an asshole, but being an asshole doesn't make you Steve Jobs, and maybe being an asshole was not a major part of what he accomplished.

so true.

People just pick what they like and try to reproduce success.

Re: McDonald’s Universal Icons for 109 Countries [pdf]

#122

Post by stijnstijn »

cwbrandsma wrote: post #118
Opalhart wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What about people in those countries who cant read?

Please be sarcasm please be sarcasm...

It's not an unreasonable question.

Sure, only a relatively small percentage of the population of Germany/Poland/etc may not be able to read. But how many of those visit McDonald's? Do they visit it more or less often than other categories of people? How important is it for them to be able to understand these icons? Is the cost of developing icons/signs they also understand more or less than the amount of trouble them not understanding these icons would bring? Are we talking about actual literacy or the more nebulous category of "functional literacy"?

There are cases where "devil's advocate"-style questions are worthwhile, and I'd argue that they're worth at least considering in this case.

Re: McDonald’s Universal Icons for 109 Countries [pdf]

#123

Post by Natsu »

commieneko wrote: post #76

The older I get, the more I'm convinced that icons are not a terribly good way to convey information. Some things and concepts, sure. Others, not so much. Especially in technology and science. Navigation can make good use of icons. Left, right, up, down, start, stop, these kinds of things can be learned and used widely. Somethings like text manipulation icons, cursors, insertions, selections, can be used effectively,…

You're right, of course, but I think that if McDonalds let others use them, they'd have a good chance of becoming well-known within a generation, just like some of the old VCR icons are today due to use in myriad music players, video players, etc.

Re: McDonald’s Universal Icons for 109 Countries [pdf]

#124

Post by Rebelgecko »

cperciva wrote: post #74
derefr wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had to work through it by a process of elimination, like a Sudoku puzzle: the "fat" symbol is definitely evoking "tape measure around the waist" iconography, perhaps implying (falsely) that "fat is the thing that makes you fat"—but more likely just putting people in mind of their weight and then saying "yeah, that stuff, that's what's in this." Given that, it'd be redundant for the carbs icon to also be about weigh…

Gas gauge still doesn't make sense to me, based on the orientation. Every gas gauge I've seen has the "empty-full" axis being vertical.

You've never seen a gas gauge with E on the left and F on the right? Or am I misunderstanding?

Re: McDonald’s Universal Icons for 109 Countries [pdf]

#125

Post by solidsnack9000 »

usaphp wrote: post #110
solidsnack9000 wrote: post #109

Maybe the solution to iconography needs like this is Chinese characters. Many of the design criteria -- legibility at various sizes, distinctness, adaptability to different layouts and colors -- are readily met. Two character combinations for some of the McDonald's symbology can be kind of complicated, though: 蛋白 dànbái = protein 脂肪 zhīfáng = fat 醣類 tánglèi = carbohydrates 熱量 rèliàng = calories

Sorry I don't understand your comment, in the first part you propose a solution, but then you explain why it won't not work. Icons should be universally distinguishable/recognizable, I as a european do not see any easy distinction between the characters you just wrote, they all seem similar to my.

In putting forth my proposal, I also considered an argument against it; but I did not mean to present it as a conclusive argument defeating it.

I am a mid-western American. The characters do look distinctive to me; but I took some Chinese in high school, many years ago -- so maybe I am not a good test case. Part of my reason for posting, was to get feedback from people with different backgrounds.

Re: McDonald’s Universal Icons for 109 Countries [pdf]

#126

Post by Camillo »

salgernon wrote: post #91

Whenever issues like this come up, I like to refer to the WIPP report on how to identify waste containment plants for 10,000 years. http://www.wipp.energy.gov/picsprog/articles/wipp%20exhibit%... In the end, it was determined that there was no guarantee that a re-established civilization could grasp what we were trying to say, and that perhaps just an area earning a reputation as cursed, via attribution of visitors,…

That whole effort was such a waste of time and money. If civilization collapses, what does it matter if the waste storage site is disturbed? It's not like it's going to be a threat to humanity. Without advanced technology, any damage from radioactivity would be limited to the local population.

To extract a large amount of contaminated material and spread it around the world, you would need an advanced technological civilization, which would then be able to detect radioactivity. If anything, a big concentration of it may help accelerate their scientific progress at some point.

Re: McDonald’s Universal Icons for 109 Countries [pdf]

#127

Post by cperciva »

Rebelgecko wrote: post #124
cperciva wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Gas gauge still doesn't make sense to me, based on the orientation. Every gas gauge I've seen has the "empty-full" axis being vertical.

You've never seen a gas gauge with E on the left and F on the right? Or am I misunderstanding?

Pretty sure I've always seen them vertical. Maybe because I've always driven Japanese cars?

Re: McDonald’s Universal Icons for 109 Countries [pdf]

#128

Post by Nition »

Camillo wrote: post #126
salgernon wrote: post #91

Whenever issues like this come up, I like to refer to the WIPP report on how to identify waste containment plants for 10,000 years. http://www.wipp.energy.gov/picsprog/articles/wipp%20exhibit%... In the end, it was determined that there was no guarantee that a re-established civilization could grasp what we were trying to say, and that perhaps just an area earning a reputation as cursed, via attribution of visitors,…

That whole effort was such a waste of time and money. If civilization collapses, what does it matter if the waste storage site is disturbed? It's not like it's going to be a threat to humanity. Without advanced technology, any damage from radioactivity would be limited to the local population. To extract a large amount of contaminated material and spread it around the world, you would need an advanced technological c…

Well the issue would be that it hurts the local population. And maybe you can prevent them from getting hurt, if you try to come up with a good warning.

Re: McDonald’s Universal Icons for 109 Countries [pdf]

#129

Post by [deleted] »

sillysaurus3 wrote: post #116
Eric_WVGG wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A heretical opinion, but one I agree with. I feel like the success of iOS and Android proves that the world of windows and icons from desktop computers was fine for nerds but ultimately a failure for mainstream use. hell, just look at fabric instruction icons… https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/a0/6b/b9/a06bb91bc...

The only people who feel it's heretical are designers with too little experience. Very few people would insist these icons were good design: http://i.imgur.com/W6pWibe.png Unlabeled icons are an antipattern in all but a handful of cases.

[deleted]

Re: McDonald’s Universal Icons for 109 Countries [pdf]

#130

Post by toast0 »

cperciva wrote: post #127
Rebelgecko wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You've never seen a gas gauge with E on the left and F on the right? Or am I misunderstanding?

Pretty sure I've always seen them vertical. Maybe because I've always driven Japanese cars?

Here's a nice horizontal one for you :) https://scoutparts.com/products/photos/18520_237275.jpg
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