Olympic non-events 2012

#37 Running out of ideas.

http://olympic-non-events.tumblr.com/

List of emoticons

This is a list of notable and commonly used emoticons or textual portrayals of a writer's mood or facial expression in the form of icons. The Western use of emoticons is quite different from Eastern usage, and Internet forums, such as 2channel, typically, show expressions in their own ways. In recent times, graphic representations, both static and animated, have taken the place of traditional emoticons in the form of icons.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_emoticons

Icons, Icons, Icons

That’s how the icon for a computer with Windows looks in a networked environment of Macs. The joke by the designers filibusters at Apple was a little obscure, but a bit coarse.

10 Outstanding Metaphors in Icon Design

---

Once, we needed an icon for a data filter, which is often portrayed using the metaphor of a funnel. It was drawn like this:

The client’s response was as follows: “I do not really understand why for a filter, you drew an icon shaped like a Martini glass!”

10 Mistakes in Icon Design

---

The surefire way of creating a set of icons falling apart along the way is to start generating icons one after another, in the alphabetic order, without looking ahead and with no clear vision of the whole picture. The opposite approach is what we call “designing an iconic language”. This method is described in details in the book by William Horton, “The Icon Book”. And now I will try to demonstrate you an example of what it is and how it is implemented.

Designing an iconic language

---

Does that mean that the only useful function of icons is to help users with dull sight? In fact, no. But this example demonstrates that an icon unlike text can have properties for locating it on the screen. These properties are shape and color. Text messages are not different from each other by shape or color. To distinguish one message from another you need to read it. In the event with icons, you need just a quick glance.

What icons are for

Privacy Icons

The Privacy Icon makes an iron-clad guarantee about some portion of how a company treats your data. This method means that without ever having to delve into the details, everyday people can glance at the simple icons atop a privacy to know if and how their data is being used. At the same time, it gives companies the flexibility required to create comprehensive and meaningful policies.

http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/privacy-icons/

http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/what-should-matter-in-privacy/

The Sketchbook of Susan Kare, the Artist Who Gave Computing a Human Face

http://blogs.plos.org/neurotribes/2011/11/22/the-sketchbook-of-susan-kare-the-artist-who-gave-computing-a-human-face/

Rebus

Eye Bee M poster designed by Rand in 1981 for IBM.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Rand