Stop using icons in data tables
medium.com
Stop using icons in data tables
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Re: Stop using icons in data tables
#2[deleted]
Re: Stop using icons in data tables
#3I had this experience with an app called Copilot Money. Wonderful native osx app, with a nice dark mode, but between the non-optional-emojis-burning-in-your-retinas in everywhere plus a few missing key features I couldn't take it. I asked their customer service if they could be made optional and they referred me to the suggestion tracker of course.
Re: Stop using icons in data tables
#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 and repetitive words? Is the cognitive tax if icons a lot higher or just a little higher? What if it's an app where the user will be using it for hours, so they'll quickly learn what the icons mean and will appreciate the space they save?
Is a tick icon really that big a deal in place of "Task completed"? Or a pencil instead of "Edit"? Sometimes you don't have a choice because of lack of space too. There's always tradeoffs to make. Obviously try to avoid icons that are hard to guess though but sometimes that's not always possible.
I can't say I've ever felt tired looking at icons in a table, but when designing I have had the experience of replacing wordy repetitive text with some intuitive icons in a complex table and it suddenly looking less intimidating.
Re: Stop using icons in data tables
#5> 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. Horizontal scrolling is a worse impediment to assimilating information from a table.
Re: Stop using icons in data tables
#6I disagree completely. I have hard times parsing the text. Simple icons are a life saver for me in big data tables
Re: Stop using icons in data tables
#7Another issue the author didn't mention, but I sometimes encounter, is that when you copy richly-formatted tables to paste in Excel or some other software, it often includes unwanted HTML tags. I usually have to use regex or at least a search and replace to make the table sortable and filterable.
I imagine this could similarly be an issue with screen readers, but haven't tested it.
Re: Stop using icons in data tables
#8I disagree completely. I have hard times parsing the text. Simple icons are a life saver for me in big data tables
What if you don't know the icons yet?
And wouldn't colors be just as helpful?
Anyway, they should design for the majority. Or use some configurable approach, like with CSS, to make everybody happy. Opinionated is so last year.
Re: Stop using icons in data tables
#9I wrote about something very similar a long time ago.[0]
The key problem is that most contemporary web design does not follow any idioms. Idioms are conventions of design that are universally understood. Skillful use of idioms makes it much easier to parse what is going on on a given page.
Where we are with most applications is that they try to define their own idioms, i.e. their own icons, their own navigation patterns, etc. But this is very arrogant because they're assuming that the user has the time to build that familiarity with all those idioms. This is never the case.
Every day I use web applications from nominally mature companies, and they have totally different icon sets for the same actions. This is immensely distracting and hard to read. Every company sees an opportunity to define their own icons, when what they should be doing is using the exact same ones as everyone else because that makes it easy to understand.
https://essays.johnloeber.com/p/4-bring-back-idiomatic-desig...
Re: Stop using icons in data tables
#10Who is actually doing this routinely and how is this even a problem?
For actual data work, any sort of "rich formatting" is no bueno and icons are great for quick reflexive categorization for information-dense habitually used interfaces. They just take a slightly slower learning curve.