Say hello to Octicons • Hacker News Board

Re: Say hello to Octicons

#31

Post by dedene » Wed, May 09, 2012, 6:26 PM UTC

xbryanx wrote: post #3

The file view icons seem way too washed out. I'd like more visual contrast so that I can see what is a folder and what is a file. Not all of us have 20 something eyeballs duders.

I agree also. Just too little contrast and color... I like the icons on buttons etc, but not for the file browser or the activity feed icons.

Re: Say hello to Octicons

#32

Post by agwa » Wed, May 09, 2012, 6:26 PM UTC

agwa wrote: post #11

I have Firefox configured to force the same font face across all sites (I love the consistency this gives me, and also some some sites are extremely abusive in their font selection) so this doesn't work for me. The "icons" show up as unknown Unicode characters. Not cool. This seems like the wrong approach - shouldn't characters have semantic meaning? It also doesn't seem accessible. Screen readers wouldn't know what…

I've given it some thought and GitHub should be able to make this more accessible by doing something like this:

    Notifications

Using media queries, serve CSS like this only to screen-like media (i.e. not screen readers):

    .mini-icon.create:before {
       content: "\f030";
    }
    .mini-icon span {
       display: none;
    }

Hopefully they'll adopt something like this, though it wouldn't help people like me who just want a consistent font across the Web.

Re: Say hello to Octicons

#33

Post by loeschg » Wed, May 09, 2012, 6:30 PM UTC

kjhughes wrote: post #8

Some of the icons on our site have been the same since we launched 4 years ago. Hmm. Icons aren't like underwear in needing to be changed regularly. Further, I'm not immediately able to interpret many of the visuals. E.g. With some hovering effort, I see that right arrow away from a book supposed to stand for "Log Out" and, oh, it's an open door, not an open book. Not sure if these were meant to be shared (license?)…

Haha, that's along the lines of what I was thinking. Meh. I sometimes wonder if Github could post something about feeding their company pet and make it to the top of HN. :)

Re: Say hello to Octicons

#34

Post by MartinCron » Wed, May 09, 2012, 6:31 PM UTC

guywithabike wrote: post #26

For the record: it took 8 people to design and implement their new icons. 8 people.

Or, they had 8 people collaborating on the design and implementation of something important. Do you dare to claim that all 8 of these people did nothing else?

Re: Say hello to Octicons

#35

Post by xbryanx » Wed, May 09, 2012, 6:31 PM UTC

xbryanx wrote: post #3

The file view icons seem way too washed out. I'd like more visual contrast so that I can see what is a folder and what is a file. Not all of us have 20 something eyeballs duders.

Interesting...the folders and files are now different colors for me. Different than when I first left this comment. Still not high enough contrast IMO, but a step in the right direction.

Re: Say hello to Octicons

#36

Post by smackfu » Wed, May 09, 2012, 6:31 PM UTC

brcrth wrote: post #15

agwa wrote: post #11

I have Firefox configured to force the same font face across all sites (I love the consistency this gives me, and also some some sites are extremely abusive in their font selection) so this doesn't work for me. The "icons" show up as unknown Unicode characters. Not cool. This seems like the wrong approach - shouldn't characters have semantic meaning? It also doesn't seem accessible. Screen readers wouldn't know what…

So you force a behavior through your browser but when it doesn't work you blame the site? Ok...

The site uses a font choice to change how the site works, which is pretty much conflicting with the entire concept of a style sheet.

Re: Say hello to Octicons

#37

Post by sunir » Wed, May 09, 2012, 6:36 PM UTC

guywithabike wrote: post #26

For the record: it took 8 people to design and implement their new icons. 8 people.

Careful. I count 5. Some people did more than one thing.

Re: Say hello to Octicons

#38

Post by azakai » Wed, May 09, 2012, 6:37 PM UTC

wickedchicken wrote: post #5

Apple and Windows, doesn't seem to be a Linux :/

? I'm on Linux and github's new font works fine. Looks nice.

Re: Say hello to Octicons

#39

Post by angerman » Wed, May 09, 2012, 6:43 PM UTC

Is it just me or does the new exit icon with the door not align well with the other icons?

Re: Say hello to Octicons

#40

Post by latortuga » Wed, May 09, 2012, 6:43 PM UTC

huhtenberg wrote: post #29

ori_b wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The alternative is having sites select fonts that hurt my eyes. I want a consistent experience across the web.

That's like wanting all cars on the road to be red :)

It's more like expecting all cars to be narrow enough to fit in lanes or expecting all cars to have turn signals and brake lights. Type face has a huge impact on how readable text is, car color has almost zero impact on my ability to drive.