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The evolution of the On/Off power switch symbol (2008)

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Re: The evolution of the On/Off power switch symbol (2008)

#21

Post by graypegg »

eruleman wrote: post #2

I've noticed that lots of appliances now use the On/Off power symbol to mean start/stop the appliance, not cutting off power. Stuff like coffee makers etc. It's weird.

I have actually seen the diamond "start" symbol [0] on ONE consumer-ish appliance! It was an office coffee machine at my old job, big green membrane IEC start button.

These symbols are ubiquitous on industrial kit (and in your car, surprisingly enough), it's kind of a shame they are barely used at all else where. There's a pretty wide vocabulary of symbols.

[0] https://www.iso.org/obp/ui#iec:grs:60417:5104

Re: The evolution of the On/Off power switch symbol (2008)

#22

Post by aargh_aargh »

graypegg wrote: post #21
eruleman wrote: post #2

I've noticed that lots of appliances now use the On/Off power symbol to mean start/stop the appliance, not cutting off power. Stuff like coffee makers etc. It's weird.

I have actually seen the diamond "start" symbol [0] on ONE consumer-ish appliance! It was an office coffee machine at my old job, big green membrane IEC start button. These symbols are ubiquitous on industrial kit (and in your car, surprisingly enough), it's kind of a shame they are barely used at all else where. There's a pretty wide vocabulary of symbols. [0] https://www.iso.org/obp/ui#iec:grs:60417:5104

You've never used one of these?

https://duckduckgo.com/?ia=images&iax=images&q=photocopier+s...

Re: The evolution of the On/Off power switch symbol (2008)

#23

Post by Dwedit »

dheera wrote: post #14

The one I REALLY HATE is the paper orientation icon on printer paper trays. Ones like these: https://static.thenounproject.com/png/4256363-200.png Do the lines on the paper mean "insert the side that already has writing face up, and the side that is blank face down" OR "these lines represent what will happen after you print but they're just being represented here for your imagination purposes even though they aren't…

I think it's pretty clear, the fold indicates what should be the top side of the page, and the lines indicate it wants printed side up.

Re: The evolution of the On/Off power switch symbol (2008)

#24

Post by rezonant »

saalweachter wrote: post #12
CharlesW wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> No, the one-inside-a-circle symbol does not indicate a toggle between off and on, as this article "surmises". According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_symbol#Standards , "one inside a circle", IEC 60417-5010, is a fully-on/fully-off toggle. The "one breaking a circle" symbol, IEC 60417-5009, is a fully-on/standby toggle.

This makes ⏻ even more appropriate as a fashionable T-shirt design, since I too only toggle between an on and sleep state, and never* fully power off.

Eventually we all become the O.

Re: The evolution of the On/Off power switch symbol (2008)

#25

Post by quietbritishjim »

CharlesW wrote: post #7
quietbritishjim wrote: post #3

No, the one-inside-a-circle symbol does not indicate a toggle between off and on, as this article "surmises". Instead, it indicates stands by . This is off, but not fully off as a circle would suggest. It's nearly on. The symbol is great for that. On a push button it means activate stand by or come back out of it (i.e., turn back on fully). Still fair enough. Unfortunately, this knowledge has watered down over time.…

> No, the one-inside-a-circle symbol does not indicate a toggle between off and on, as this article "surmises". According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_symbol#Standards , "one inside a circle", IEC 60417-5010, is a fully-on/fully-off toggle. The "one breaking a circle" symbol, IEC 60417-5009, is a fully-on/standby toggle.

Agreed but the "one breaking a circle" stand by symbol, IEC 60417-5009, is what the article seemed to be referring to by "one inside a circle", given the pictures shown. I just copied their imprecise description.

Re: The evolution of the On/Off power switch symbol (2008)

#26

Post by Turing_Machine »

dheera wrote: post #14

The one I REALLY HATE is the paper orientation icon on printer paper trays. Ones like these: https://static.thenounproject.com/png/4256363-200.png Do the lines on the paper mean "insert the side that already has writing face up, and the side that is blank face down" OR "these lines represent what will happen after you print but they're just being represented here for your imagination purposes even though they aren't…

Likewise the indication (if any) on a sheet-fed scanner tray that tells you whether to put the paper in face up or face down.

I've taken to just writing instructions to myself on that type of thing with a sharpie, using actual text, and/or an actual diagram. It works well with the usual beige plastic. If it's black, I usually put it on a small piece of paper and tape it somewhere it won't interfere with the operation.

Not everything has to be an icon. IMO, bad icons are far worse than no icons.

Re: The evolution of the On/Off power switch symbol (2008)

#28

Post by TeMPOraL »

tshaddox wrote: post #20
dehrmann wrote: post #11

The 1/0 thing confused me for a while because 0 looks like a circuit (on), and 1 doesn't (0ff). I was also taking electrical engineering classes at the time, and the 1/0 true/false thing was already halfway arbitrary because of active-low pins, and even in software land, "return 0" could mean either true or false depending on the context.

Also, a perfect circle would almost never strike me as a zero.

The difference between perfect circle, 'o', 'O' and '0' is contextual, since the shape of all four of them is approximately the same. On their own, the characters themselves are often ambiguous in print, and totally ambiguous in handwriting.

Re: The evolution of the On/Off power switch symbol (2008)

#29

Post by dheera »

Dwedit wrote: post #23
dheera wrote: post #14

The one I REALLY HATE is the paper orientation icon on printer paper trays. Ones like these: https://static.thenounproject.com/png/4256363-200.png Do the lines on the paper mean "insert the side that already has writing face up, and the side that is blank face down" OR "these lines represent what will happen after you print but they're just being represented here for your imagination purposes even though they aren't…

I think it's pretty clear, the fold indicates what should be the top side of the page, and the lines indicate it wants printed side up.

> what it wants printed

That's the part that isn't clear. How do I know that the lines don't indicate "what is already printed" and the blank side indicates "the blank canvas that it wants as input"?

Re: The evolution of the On/Off power switch symbol (2008)

#30

Post by [deleted] »

Turing_Machine wrote: post #26
dheera wrote: post #14

The one I REALLY HATE is the paper orientation icon on printer paper trays. Ones like these: https://static.thenounproject.com/png/4256363-200.png Do the lines on the paper mean "insert the side that already has writing face up, and the side that is blank face down" OR "these lines represent what will happen after you print but they're just being represented here for your imagination purposes even though they aren't…

Likewise the indication (if any) on a sheet-fed scanner tray that tells you whether to put the paper in face up or face down. I've taken to just writing instructions to myself on that type of thing with a sharpie, using actual text, and/or an actual diagram. It works well with the usual beige plastic. If it's black, I usually put it on a small piece of paper and tape it somewhere it won't interfere with the operation…

[deleted]
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