Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

designblog.nzeldes.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 65 posts

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

#31

Post by SoftTalker »

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…

> bad icons are far worse than no icons

Yes. Cars used to have words like "OIL" or "TEMP" or "BRAKE" or "SEAT BELT" in the dashboad warning lights. That switched to icons, probably as a cost-savings so they could use the same parts worldwide. But at a cost in clarity.

Now that most new car dashboards have programmable LCD displays or at least a message area, better/more descriptive fault descriptions have returned.

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

#32

Post by aendruk »

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.

If you put the printed side up, the next print will be superimposed and make gibberish.

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

#33

Post by JohnFen »

SoftTalker wrote: post #18

There are other, sometimes contradictory conventions. In the USA, a standard wall switch is moved "up" for on and "down" for off whereas in Europe it's the opposite. Always wondered how that came to be.

(US here) -- I remember to install light switches so that the up position is "on" because of a faulty light switch I had decades ago -- the spring holding the position was broken so that, over time, gravity would eventually make it fall to the lower position.

Having the lower position be "off" seems like a good failsafe for that sort of thing. I don't know if that's why the convention, but it is the mechanism that I use to remember what the convention is.

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

#34

Post by JohnFen »

aargh_aargh wrote: post #22
graypegg wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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...

I always thought that was a quirk of photocopier manufacturers. It stuck in my mind because the symbol makes no sense to me.

I didn't realize it was an actual standard. Still doesn't mean the symbol makes any sense, but hey, at least it's a standard.

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

#35

Post by contingencies »

mrexroad wrote: post #13
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.

Interesting! Per your Wikipedia link… there was an early ‘00s proposal for a dedicated sleep symbol: line through a crescent moon. Same proposal would have defined line-through-circle as the generic power symbol. Though, this was superseded with standard for using only a crescent moon to indicate standby. “Standby symbol ambiguity Because the exact meaning of the standby symbol on a given device may be unclear until…

there was an early ‘00s proposal for a dedicated sleep symbol: line through a crescent moon

This may have been avoided owing to strong potential of religious misinterpretation.

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

#36

Post by floxy »

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…

>"insert the side that already has writing face up, and the side that is blank face down"

More odd that it would be on a printer, but for a scanner, it is telling you that it will scan the side that is face up. For a printer, I'd be willing to be that icon is telling you that it is going to print on the face-up side.

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

#39

Post by saalweachter »

rezonant wrote: post #24
saalweachter wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Yeah, but we hardly ever toggle back on.
Post reply on HN