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The most typical faults in icon design?
#1 Poor differentiation between images It often happens that within one set of icons, we have icons that look similar to one another and it is very difficult to understand which one is which. If you donÒt see the legends, you can very easily get the icons mixed up. #2 Too many elements in the icon The cleaner and more laconic the icon is, the better. It is preferable to set the number of elements in a single icon to a minimum. However, MicrosoftÒs artists, inspired by the new format of icons introduced in Windows Vista, decided to go big and drew bloated icons to justify their bloated budget. #3 Unnecessary objects An icon should be easy to understand. The fewer objects it holds, the better. It is great if the whole picture is relevant and not only part of it. That means, you have to pay attention to the context of using icons. Look at the database icons, for instance. The pack may appear fine at a first glance, but if this application (or a specific toolbar) deals only with databases, we can (and should) delete the unnecessary part. #4 Non-unified style within a set of icons It is a similar style that unites several icons into a pack. The uniting property can be any of the these: color scheme, layout, size, artistic technique or a combination of several such properties. If the icon set is rather small, the creator can remember the rules easily. If the icon set contains over a hundred images and there is more the one designer working on this task (for example, icons for an operating system), then specific instructions are developed. Such instructions carefully describe how to draw an icon so that it perfectly matches the set. #5 Spare perspective and shadows in small icons Progress does not stand still: GUIs have gained the power to display semi-transparent items, lost the limitation on the number of colors and there is currently a trend towards 3D icons. But is it really all that useful? Not always! Especially if we are talking about icons in size 16?16 or smaller. #6 Misusing original symbols Selecting what is to be drawn in an icon is always a compromise between readability and uniqueness. Prior to a symbol (image) is developed for an icon it is wise to see how it is done in other projects. Maybe the most suitable solution is not in inventing something original but rather in adopting the common solution. #7 Ethnical or cultural characteristics not being considered It is always helpful to take into account the conditions in which your icon will appear. An important aspect here is ethnical differences. Social traditions, surroundings and gestures can differ radically from nation to nation. For example, a mail box would seam to be a great symbol for a ÓMailÔ icon. But you will find all the different types of mailboxes in different countries. In that case, you should either make your icon represent the mailbox that is typical for the userÒs country or state, or select a more universal symbol like a post stamp. #8 Pictures of real interface parts in icons The tutorial on creating icons for Mac OS X warns us: ÓAvoid using Aqua interface elements in your icons; they could be confused with the actual interface.Ô But all in vain! We still have lost of icons that can be read as a few separate ones. #9 Text inside icons This mistake is usually seen in application icons. Clearly the first thing that comes to mind when working on an application icon is to adapt the applicationÒs logo. What is so bad with the text embedded into the icon? First of all, it is directly language-related and so impedes localization. Secondly, if the icon is done in a small size, The text is not readable. Thirdly, in the case of application icons, this text is duplicated in the caption of the software. #10 Outside the pixel framework This problem usually occurs if you use a vector format for creating your icons. In large size the images looks pretty and clear; but in reality the icons are tiny, and under rasterization anti-aliasing frets the objectsÒ edges.
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Standard Toolbar Icons
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ArtIcons Pro can find, extract, edit and create Windows icons in color depths up to 16 million colors. Import and export icon images, create and handle icon libraries. It supports the new icon format introduced in Windows XP (8-bit transparency). Download it |
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IconXP can edit and create Windows icons in color depths up to 32-bit True Color. It supports the new icon format introduced in Windows XP (8-bit transparency). You can customize desktop and folder icons. Download it |
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Any to Icon allows you to convert multiple BMP, JPEG, GIF, PNG, WBMP and WMF images to Windows icons in one action. It also breaks down entire icon libraries into individual icons. You can change color resolution and size to create customized icons. Download it |
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IconUtils is a complete icon and cursor solution. IconUtils package can edit icons and cursors, manage icon and cursor libraries, convert icons into images (in various graphic formats) and vice versa, customize Windows desktop and folder icons. Download it |
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Icon to Any allows you to convert Windows icons and cursors into BMP, JPG, PNG, GIF, ICO, CUR, WBMP and RC formats. It has a wizard interface. It's simple to process multiple files at once. You can find icons and make images for use on Web pages. Download it |
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ArtCursors allows you to edit Windows cursors in color depths up to 16 million colors. You also can search files and folders for cursors, import and export cursor images and create cursor libraries for better and more efficient storage. Download it |
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AhaView supports all popular graphic formats, including JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, ICO, CUR, ANI, WBMP. You can browse images in thumbnail mode, view pictures full screen with zooming features, convert images to JPEG, PNG, BMP formats and manage files. Download it |
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CustomIcons is an ultimate tool for customizing the icons on you desktop, in Windows Start menu and many other locations. Using CustomIcons you can easily replace default Windows icons with the ones to your choice. Download it |
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