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Stop using icons in data tables

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Re: Stop using icons in data tables

#11

Post by cosmic_cheese »

seanwilson wrote: post #4

> When we pack high-density information into a data table or a complex dashboard we are increasing the visual entropy of the entire system. Forcing the brain to decode intricate, non-universal shapes in a tiny 16-pixel footprint, creates a “cognitive tax” that users pay en masse every time they scan the table. What if it's an icon with a simple shape? How does that compare to noising up the table with long phrases an…

My gut feel (personal experience, not research) is that the whole of the icons' nature is important. Them having simple shapes doesn't necessarily solve the problem and could in some cases make it worse.

Imagine for example a set of icons that are monochrome, open-ended glyphs comprised of a single stroke with line weight similar to that of the text. This could complicate visual parsing greatly due to high visual similarity to text.

On the other hand, a 16px checkbox control with subtle gradients, shadows, and depth cues looks absolutely nothing like text and is filtered out by the brain almost automatically (unless of course the checkbox state is pertinent to the user's intent). Same goes for a 16px colorful icon with shading like used to be ubiquitous in desktop operating systems.

Re: Stop using icons in data tables

#12

Post by rrherr »

The title is misleading. The message is really:

Stop using unlabeled icons in data tables.

It says, "Norman Nielson argues that text + icon has the highest cognitive recall and lowest error rate"

Here's what the Nielsen Norman Group says about Icon Usability: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/icon-usability/

The conclusion: "Always include a visible text label. As Bruce Tognazzini once said, 'a word is worth a thousand pictures.'"

Here's the quote in context: https://www.asktog.com/columns/038MacUITrends.html

"In 1985, after a year of finding that pretty but unlabeled icons confused customers, the Apple human interface group took on the motto 'A word is worth a thousand pictures.' This still holds true."

Re: Stop using icons in data tables

#13

Post by simoncion »

gdulli wrote: post #5
seanwilson wrote: post #4

> When we pack high-density information into a data table or a complex dashboard we are increasing the visual entropy of the entire system. Forcing the brain to decode intricate, non-universal shapes in a tiny 16-pixel footprint, creates a “cognitive tax” that users pay en masse every time they scan the table. What if it's an icon with a simple shape? How does that compare to noising up the table with long phrases an…

Right, this article overlooks the difference between a first encounter and regular encounters. The concise representation pays off when you do learn it, as long as it's executed well. And I'm fine with a bit of cognitive exploration to figure out a green check and red X scheme rather than see a whole table column filled up with words like "active" and "inactive". The former allows more columns on screen at once. Hori…

I would almost always rather have the words; words are things I can easily search for and manipulate using the text-processing tools in my possession.

Personally, my brain "page faults" whenever it has to interpret an emoji, which makes most use of in-line icons far worse than the text they represent. I expect few people have this problem, but I also expect that I'm not the only one with it.

Re: Stop using icons in data tables

#17

Post by xattt »

cosmic_cheese wrote: post #11
seanwilson wrote: post #4

> When we pack high-density information into a data table or a complex dashboard we are increasing the visual entropy of the entire system. Forcing the brain to decode intricate, non-universal shapes in a tiny 16-pixel footprint, creates a “cognitive tax” that users pay en masse every time they scan the table. What if it's an icon with a simple shape? How does that compare to noising up the table with long phrases an…

My gut feel (personal experience, not research) is that the whole of the icons' nature is important. Them having simple shapes doesn't necessarily solve the problem and could in some cases make it worse. Imagine for example a set of icons that are monochrome, open-ended glyphs comprised of a single stroke with line weight similar to that of the text. This could complicate visual parsing greatly due to high visual sim…

The box itself around a data table label could hint at a state, if the goal is to define only a handful of states (green rounded capsule for a completed state; diamond capsule for an in-progress condition; red square for an error; purple parallelogram for some special condition; etc).

Not sure how this is for accessibility in terms of colour selection, but I’m sure this could be fine-tuned.

Re: Stop using icons in data tables

#18

Post by ljm »

rrherr wrote: post #12

The title is misleading. The message is really: Stop using unlabeled icons in data tables. It says, "Norman Nielson argues that text + icon has the highest cognitive recall and lowest error rate" Here's what the Nielsen Norman Group says about Icon Usability: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/icon-usability/ The conclusion: "Always include a visible text label. As Bruce Tognazzini once said, 'a word is worth a thousan…

WCAG is a standard designed around the web and web-adjacent apps. Am I missing something here? Because accessibility standards are much easier to adhere to now. So the text label always has to be there, but you can also make it visible in the design and it's accessible by default.

This is a lesson to be learned by people who want minimalist UIs.

Re: Stop using icons in data tables

#19

Post by MomsAVoxell »

rrherr wrote: post #12

The title is misleading. The message is really: Stop using unlabeled icons in data tables. It says, "Norman Nielson argues that text + icon has the highest cognitive recall and lowest error rate" Here's what the Nielsen Norman Group says about Icon Usability: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/icon-usability/ The conclusion: "Always include a visible text label. As Bruce Tognazzini once said, 'a word is worth a thousan…

It should be noted that the example given by the OP contains ‘poor’ icons which are more a consequence of the nature of the source - i.e. a HR headshot does not an effective workflow make ..

Re: Stop using icons in data tables

#20

Post by dmix »

uhoh-itsmaciek wrote: post #15

Stop blogging on medium. I start to read your post and as I'm scrolling down the page, I get a full-page modal nagging me to subscribe. Why should I listen to anything you have to say about user experience?

If you sign up for free those modals stop showing up.
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