Re: Re(2): SystemIcons.bundle
Re: Re(2): SystemIcons.bundle
- Subject: Re: Re(2): SystemIcons.bundle
- From: Marco Scheurer <email@hidden>
- Date: Sun, 25 Aug 2002 12:39:29 +0200
On Friday, August 23, 2002, at 10:49 pm, John C. Randolph wrote:
I just asked about this, and was referred to:
http://developer.apple.com/ue/aqua/icons.html
where we say the:
"Borrowing System Icons
Apple has invested heavily in icon design: Mac users recognize that
certain
desktop icons represent certain Mac OS X system applications or
functions.
As a result, borrowing or reusing system icons is not allowed. It would
be
confusing to users, for instance, if the Universal Access icon from
System
Preferences were used in another application to mean "add new person".
The exception to the above rule is if a standard interface element that
you
use includes a system icon, don't replace it with a custom one."
Hope this helps,
I'm affraid that this means for instance:
(1) Do not change the radio button icon from radio buttons
(2) Do not reuse the Sound icon from the System Preferences in your own
sound preference panel
(3) Do not reuse the Address icon from Mail's toolbar do launch Address
Book from your own toolbar
While (1) is of course OK, (2) and (3) seem really dumb propositions and
in contradiction with the stated goal, not confusing the user. Do we
really need one speaker design for every app? Or something creative and
ugly like an ear icon?
What is needed is a larger set of reusable icons with guidelines on how
to use them. A simple rule could be that "any system icon can be reused
if and only if it's title is also reused". This would largely preserve
their semantics.
Alternatively, just trust in good sense would be nice too. "The user"
will anyway end up rejecting abuses and violations, just like he does
for alternative designs of "system icons from standard interface
elements" (radio, check, scroll bar icons and the like I suppose).
Marco Scheurer
Sen:te, Lausanne, Switzerland
http://www.sente.ch
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