I'm not colorblind, but the color pattern looks very similar to all "If you're colorblind, you can't see the difference" images out there..
Of course, I could be wrong, but if I were you, I'd have a colorblind person test this.
Show HN: Simple User Icons
11–20 of 35 posts
Re: Show HN: Simple User Icons
#12I'm not colorblind, but the color pattern looks very similar to all "If you're colorblind, you can't see the difference" images out there.. Of course, I could be wrong, but if I were you, I'd have a colorblind person test this.
oh, that's a very good point. thanks. first thought is that relying less on variations in hue and using more variations in intensity would help. hmmm. going to experiment. thanks again.
Re: Show HN: Simple User Icons
#13Well, I don't see how this can be useful. Human brains are terrible in remembering faces, but not in remembering colors. Actually, comparing the icons (to find out if they are the same or not) is quite hard. Have you tried it?
it's not intended to replace photographs. in fact, one thing i would hope to do in the future is allow people to upload photographs. instead, it's meant to replace the auto-generated images that already exist that use IP addresses (like on stack-overflow, for example). those are really ugly; mine are much nicer (and more flexible). while i was developing this approach i tried lots of ideas. it's actually quite hard t…
I did something similar for my users' default avatars, randomly picking an image from a directory of a few thousand images I gathered and renamed sequentially. I just scoured deviantart.com for texture icon packs (usually 100x100px) that people seem to make for some reason, and threw them all in there. I spent a night quickly flicking through them and deleting anything exceedingly boring, too effeminate (majority pink/purple), or just lame. It hasn't gone public though, so I haven't experienced reactions yet.
stuff like these:
http://lookslikerain.deviantart.com/art/Drama-Queen-13698449...
Re: Show HN: Simple User Icons
#14If you consider this UX design, you might as well use QR codes to represent actionable items on a website.
I saw the word "Simple" yet it was far from it.
Re: Show HN: Simple User Icons
#15I'm not trying to be rude, so don't take this the wrong way, but what is the point of this? What problem/desire does it address? I'm just not understanding.
Re: Show HN: Simple User Icons
#16This sort of mosaic-y, rigidly geometric style would only fit in with certain website designs, and the colors in the examples are all extremely saturated. I think having to sort through these would be really exhausting on the eyes.
Also, it reminds me of the geometric defaults Gravatar resorts to if someone hasn't uploaded a photograph. (http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/98287fc0f05ebed1c2aae6bc2d236...) (http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/3fbdc6a307d10a1725a54b2b391b5...).
I hate to say it, but it's a common rule of thumb in graphic design that people like to see other people. Faces. That's what user icons tend to be, because it's what works.
Re: Show HN: Simple User Icons
#17Well, I don't see how this can be useful. Human brains are terrible in remembering faces, but not in remembering colors. Actually, comparing the icons (to find out if they are the same or not) is quite hard. Have you tried it?
it's not intended to replace photographs. in fact, one thing i would hope to do in the future is allow people to upload photographs. instead, it's meant to replace the auto-generated images that already exist that use IP addresses (like on stack-overflow, for example). those are really ugly; mine are much nicer (and more flexible). while i was developing this approach i tried lots of ideas. it's actually quite hard t…
> it's meant to replace the auto-generated images that already exist that use IP addresses
I think you need to emphasise this point more in your 'about' page. I skimmed through your about page and came away with the thought 'I don't think I'd want to replace my personalised avatar with something like this - it's much harder to identify me through this than a photograph or illustration'. But as a replacement for a generic avatar - that makes sense!
Re: Show HN: Simple User Icons
#18This sort of mosaic-y, rigidly geometric style would only fit in with certain website designs, and the colors in the examples are all extremely saturated. I think having to sort through these would be really exhausting on the eyes. Also, it reminds me of the geometric defaults Gravatar resorts to if someone hasn't uploaded a photograph. ( http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/98287fc0f05ebed1c2aae6bc2d236... ) ( http://www.…
see my answer elsewhere (and i'll update the site tomorrow) - this is not to replace photos, but an alternative to other auto-generated icons.
also, if anyone wants less saturated images, or any other variation, please contact me and i'll see what i can do. i'm happy to iterate this (for example, things will likely be changing to address the colourblind issue raised elsewhere).
Re: Show HN: Simple User Icons
#19I'm not colorblind, but the color pattern looks very similar to all "If you're colorblind, you can't see the difference" images out there.. Of course, I could be wrong, but if I were you, I'd have a colorblind person test this.
oh, that's a very good point. thanks. first thought is that relying less on variations in hue and using more variations in intensity would help. hmmm. going to experiment. thanks again.
You might have meant this by "intensity", but you're going to want to vary lightness, not saturation. They should be distinguishable in grayscale.
Re: Show HN: Simple User Icons
#20Similar: http://robohash.org/ and http://gravatar.com/ (using the identicon feature)
I prefer robohash by far.