Make icons make sense: solving symbols for global audiences

Make icons make sense Solving symbols for global audiences Patrick Hofmann UX Designer • Sydney @phofmann gplus.to/pman facebook.com/phofmann [email_address]

Agenda
1 Guessing game
2 Simplification
3 Distinction
4 Landmarks
5 Age groups
6 Takeaways
Make icons make sense Solving symbols for global audiences Patrick Hofmann UX Designer • Sydney

Welcome!
 My name is Patrick Hofmann
 I studied technical writing but have spent most of my career as a technical illustrator, visual interaction designer, and now a user experience designer in Sydney
 Despite their challenges, I like icons
Patrick Hofmann ?

Me and my wombmates
 If we’re genetically, demographically, virtually identical, are we the same users?
 If we are unique in our experiences and interests, do we use and interpret things differently?

Guessing game
1

Guessing game 1

Placement and context
What is this?
 Pointing upward?  Signalling importance?  Directing movement?

Placement and context What is this?  On a flag?  On a calculator?  In a screen interface?  On a building?  On a medicine bottle?

 On a shopping mall map?  On a food package or recipe?  On a mobile phone? Placement and context What is this?

 On a machine dial or knob?  On a milk carton or bottle?  On a browser? Placement and context What is this?

Placement and context What is this?  In the aisle of a hardware store?  In the margin of a user guide?  In a cartoon above someone’s head?

Important factors for any icon
 Familiarity
 Placement
 Context
 Juxtaposition
 Simplicity  Distinction

Simplicity
2

Distinction
3

Landmarks 4

Hospital

Stadium

Business

Place of worship

5
Age groups

Why are age groups important to consider?
 The social information age has expanded our range of users
 A 6-year-old and a 96-year-old both use the same product
 We use visuals that do not satisfy all age groups -- especially younger

Studying younger users
 Conducted a series of tests with 5- to 15-year olds in the US, Canada, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand
 Asked children to sketch specific concepts or answer a series of visual “flash cards”
 Here are the outcomes

Television

Telephone

Movie listings or video files

Music files or audio streams

Save a file

The impact of age groups on our work
 As technology expands, our audiences expand
 As we localise or internationalise our icons, we must look at age
 Like our users, our icons grow old as well
 Test, test, test -- any way you can

6
Takeaways

Takeaways
 Icons should be instantly recognised, not read and analysed
 Icons need to present a single, core message
 In a grid or series, icons need to be distinguishable
 Consider age-groups as cultures
 Test, test, test any way you can!

Takeaways
 Size does matter: Your icon must be recognisable even if it’s very small
 Design your icon at actual size

aiga.org dafont.com commons.wikimedia.org thenounproject.com images.google.com Takeaways  Visit these great sources of inspiration

Beware of falling

Beware of falling cows

Beware of hungry cows

So...  Who’s learned something about icons?

So...  Who’s learned something about icons?  Who thinks I’m a nutter?

So...  Who’s learned something about icons?  Who thinks I’m a nutter?  Who thinks I’m charming?

Thanks !
Questions?
[email_address] @phofmann gplus.to/pman

Make icons make sense: solving symbols for global audiences

by TCUK on Sep 21, 2011

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Make icons make sense: solving symbols for global audiences — Presentation Transcript