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Usability in Icons

stiern.com

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Re: Usability in Icons

#21

Post by gcb »

> Bold: 100%

well, they didn't asked anyone outside of the english speaking world. Where I came from, everyone knows "N" is for bold text.

Also, having studied cognitive sciences in my free time, the author should learn soon that icons are not meant for discovery or explanation. They are place holders. Tokens for your mind to return to effortlessness.

So, the save icon could be an Elephant (my old idea, nobody likes) or a dolar sign or a clown. it doesn't matter. The user have to explore where the save is. then the icon will just serve for him to return.

Re: Usability in Icons

#23

Post by Oestrogen »

addandsubtract wrote: post #14
wgx wrote: post #12

OK, "WWW" is fairly universal, but generally it's best to avoid any text - an icon should be language-independent.

Considering that HTTP is a universal protocol and everyone using WWW in their URL, I don't see this as a problem.

Everyone using WWW in their URL? Look at the address bar right now. :)

Re: Usability in Icons

#24

Post by callahad »

tomjen3 wrote: post #20
nostromo wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Similarly, to access music on my iPhone, I click an image of an iPod. Another anecdote: I heard on some NPR show that most kids don't understand what the sound of a record being scratched to a halt actually is. (This sound: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn6s1FE-yKQ ) When asked, they describe it as the noise that is made on TV when you do a double-take.

TIL I guess. And since I don't qualify as a kid, I am guessing that most mid-twenties wouldn't know either.

I think vinyl was still sufficiently popular for most folks in their mid-twenties to recognize it. I'm 25, and several of my grade school classrooms had record players, not to mention all the homes of my parents, their friends, and our extended family.

But as far as I can tell, few folks born in the mid-80s had significant direct experience with records, to the point where there were cultural references to our ignorance. In particular, I remember a sunday morning comic strip when I was young that centered around kids not being able to identify a record player. We were right on the cusp of its obsolescence.

To wit, I couldn't tell you the difference between a 33 and a 45 (well, it's rpm, but are they different sizes?), and I've never owned music on vinyl.

I'd wager that people born in the 90s would be the first to be completely unaware of the origins of the record scratching sound.

Re: Usability in Icons

#25

Post by Kwpolska »

gcb wrote: post #21

> Bold: 100% well, they didn't asked anyone outside of the english speaking world. Where I came from, everyone knows "N" is for bold text. Also, having studied cognitive sciences in my free time, the author should learn soon that icons are not meant for discovery or explanation. They are place holders. Tokens for your mind to return to effortlessness. So, the save icon could be an Elephant (my old idea, nobody likes)…

Do you have different icons in Word, too?

Re: Usability in Icons

#27

Post by kalleboo »

Kwpolska wrote: post #25
gcb wrote: post #21

> Bold: 100% well, they didn't asked anyone outside of the english speaking world. Where I came from, everyone knows "N" is for bold text. Also, having studied cognitive sciences in my free time, the author should learn soon that icons are not meant for discovery or explanation. They are place holders. Tokens for your mind to return to effortlessness. So, the save icon could be an Elephant (my old idea, nobody likes)…

Do you have different icons in Word, too?

Yes. Word even localizes the keyboard shortcuts (e.g. in Swedish office, you bold text with command-F for "Fetstil")

Re: Usability in Icons

#28

Post by robin_reala »

RyanGWU82 wrote: post #2

It drives my boss crazy that the universal icon for Save is a picture of a floppy disk. We haven't been saving documents to floppy since 1993! But it's also scary to be the first one to buck the trend, so our product uses the same floppy disk as everyone else...

Apple got it right with Lion - why bother with Save icons at all? We’ve got enough space now to autosave nearly everything.

Re: Usability in Icons

#29

Post by ed209 »

I wonder how many of the participants were able to go back and insert a link without any problems after they were told what the chain icon does?

Icons are really useful once you learn how to use a particular interface. It's ok not to get it at first as long as you only need to learn it once.

You will always need to educate customers to some extent, what you need to do is make that learning curve as easy as possible.

Re: Usability in Icons

#30

Post by wgx »

addandsubtract wrote: post #14
wgx wrote: post #12

OK, "WWW" is fairly universal, but generally it's best to avoid any text - an icon should be language-independent.

Considering that HTTP is a universal protocol and everyone using WWW in their URL, I don't see this as a problem.

See my comment again: generally.
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