This week, ‘Getting Iconic’ focused on icons in design.
Icons have existed for a long time, with different uses in different forms of media. We looked back at some previous examples of icons, particularly those used at the olympics. This was a good way of visualising how icons have changed over time, as icons were produced each time in representing the same things, but in different styles.
The example of this which I was most fascinated by was the 1972 version. This featured simple icons of a character doing each sport, formed with relatively simple shapes. In my opinion, although being over half of a century old, they are still clear and would work in the same circumstances today. This shows how keeping icons simple and clear in displaying their message can make them timeless.
This leads into how icons are communicated to a wide audience. The olympics, for example, as a worldwide event with the target audience from a range of cultures and speaking different languages. This is why icons should be language agnostic, meaning that they can be understood by anyone and don’t have any language or cultural barriers. Looking at my own surroundings I can see how most icons aren't labelled, as their message is clear to anyone. For example, the battery and wifi icons on my computer show the strength of my internet connection and battery without actually stating it, as the icons themselves make it clear.
Icons in user interfaces have a purpose. For example, the icons shown above have the purpose of telling users what account they are on, wifi connection and battery life. Icons are ‘hidden’ into everyday interfaces, as they’re such as integral aspect of how things can run users don’t even think about them.
I looked at Spotify as an example of this, since I’m currently looking at a music app for one of my projects, so this may help me in future. I found that on the Home Screen, there are 9 icons simply along the top of the screen. Most of these go unnoticed to the average user and they only focus on them when needed. This shows how having clear icons is such a key aspect of a well functioning app.
One thing that was very useful to look at was scale. This isn’t something I'd considered much in icon design, but now recognise how much of an impact something seemingly small like this can have. Icons are generally designed for a specific size, so it is vital for designers to ensure they create them for the correct size, as scaling something up or down may impact the quality. Similarly, icons should be different so that users can differentiate them, but have consistencies such as style and font weight so that they harmonise well in a UI together.
I did some further research on some designers that were pointed out to us during the lecture. Before doing this, I read a really interesting document called ‘The dribbilisation of design’, published in 2013 by Paul Adams. He outlined how visual showcases of work such on on Dribble are a great way of designers showing their work and how it looks, but this can place a focus on designs that look good rather than ones that may not be as pretty, but have a functional purpose in the real world and achieve a purpose. Therefore, in my research I’ll ensure to focus on actual projects which have been used for an actual purpose, rather than concept designs.
Tim Van Damme
Tim Van Damme is a software designer at Figma, having previously worked with Instagram, Dropbox and more. He has worked with icons, well recognised for his creation of an older version of dropbox’s icons. From looking at a few sources, I found that Van Damme was a key figure in developing and designing Dropbox 3.0 in 2013.
Jon Hicks
Jon Hicks created the icon sets used in the Victioria and Albert museum in landed. I felt like this was a good example to look at, was icons placed around a public place need to be carefully designed and placed to ensure accessibility. He created these icons based on the strengths and weaknesses he indentidied with the previous set, focusing on simplicity and consistency. Shown are only some of the impressive 216 icons Hicks created for this.
Vic Bell
Vic Bell is ——. He has worked with a wide range of companies, including creating the icons for Uber. He was approached b y them in 2017 with a commission for creating 300 icons; he noted on his website that the reason there was so many is that there icons were for both the interface users see and drivers see. I find the way he created these very eye-opening in terms of simplicity, creating an original icon and removing small details when creating qa version suited for smaller screen sizes/when sized down. To me this shows a great example of accessibility in design, as Bell ensured that each logo was created with a range of devices and screen sizes in mind.
