Icons are simple pictures or symbols that represent something without using words, making them universally understandable. They are used to represent common actions, like play, record, and stop, or concepts like time, messages, and navigation directions. While some icons resemble the objects they depict, their specific meaning can depend on the context in which they are used, such as on a phone versus a shipping box. Overall, icons provide a visual way to convey important information to people regardless of language or reading ability.

1. Craig Corbett

2. What is an icon?
A simple picture.
A symbol.

3. What is special about an icon?
It represents something.
It only uses pictures.
It does not have any words.

4. Who are icons for?
Everybody.
They must be easy to understand.
You don’t need to read them.
People who speak different
languages can understand them.

5. Example Icons
What does it mean?
Play or Start
Record
Stop

6. Example Icon
What could it mean?
A message.
A email.
A letter.
Put it on a box and it might mean
Letters only.
Envelopes.

7. Example Icons
What does it mean?
The time of day.
Clocks.
A timer.
Wait.
Busy.

8. Example Icon
What could it mean?
Go forward.
Up.
Put it on a box and it might mean
“This Way Up”.

9. Does it matter where icons are
used?
 Yes it does.
 If you were to see an icon on a box it will have a
different meaning to an icon on your mobile
phone.
 A envelope on your mobile might mean a text
message or email.
 A envelope on a post box might mean “letters
only”.
 A envelope on a box might mean that the box
contains envelopes.

10. Let’s sum up icons
 Icons can sometimes look like the
object or thing that they represent.
 They have pictures, not words, so that
everybody can understand what they
mean.
 They must be easy to understand.
 You can change their meaning by using
them for different things.