Re: Toolbar Icon Workflow
Re: Toolbar Icon Workflow
- Subject: Re: Toolbar Icon Workflow
- From: "Paul Sanders" <email@hidden>
- Date: Sat, 26 Jun 2010 23:14:32 +0100
I create my icons as vector graphics without worrying *at all* about pixel boundaries and then scale them to fit at display time. Life improved markedly when I went this route. Although they might not be as sharp as 'pixel-perfect' bitmapped images it means I don't have to worry too much about the exact size at which they will be displayed. That said, my talents are limited and my icons are pretty boring. The alternative is to create 'pixel-perfect' bitmaps in a bitmap editor at the size they will be displayed, but it's hard work and I would only do it for a small image where display quality is paramount.
I would store your vector-graphics icons as PDF. You only need a .icns file for your application icon. Make your images with the correct aspect ratio and if you need the same image with two different aspect ratios, make two separate PDF's.
Just my $0.02.
Regards,
Paul Sanders.
----- Original Message -----
From: Richard Somers
To: email@hidden
Sent: Saturday, June 26, 2010 8:19 PM
Subject: Toolbar Icon Workflow
My current ad hoc work flow for toolbar icons which are geometric in
nature.
• Use "Inkscape".
• Use a small canvas size of 28 points wide x 22 points high.
• Try to make sure the ink is generally constrained with the
individual point boundaries.
• Save the "Inkscape" file as a pdf.
• Open the pdf in "MakeThumbnail" and create an icns file.
• Use the icns file for the toolbar image.
Short of getting a degree in graphic design or spending money on
software or hiring a graphic artist, what can I do that will make
better looking toolbar icons?
The pdf art work looks good. The toolbar icons don't look so good, the
edges are a little fuzzy. The toolbar icons at regular size are
slightly larger than the original pdf.
With an NSButton the pdf file works great and looks great when scaling
set to none. When the pdf file is used as the image for the toolbar
item, it gets asymmetrically stretched and looks horrible. Thus the
reason for converting the pdf to an icns file.
The "MakeThumbnail" application actually makes 9 images from very
large to small. The large ones are obviously an overkill for the
toolbar.
The Apple Human Interface Guidelines has this to say "Although toolbar
icons should conserve screen real estate (32 x 32 pixels is the
recommended size), they should be inviting and easy to identify." This
is nice to know but doesn't provide much help.
--Richard
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