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The most common errors in icon design?
#1 Insufficient differentiation between images Sometimes within one pack of icons, we have icons that look similar and it is very hard to understand which one is which. If you miss the legends, you can very easily be confused by those icons. #2 Unnecessary elements in one icon The cleaner and more laconic the icon is, the better. It is preferable to keep the number of elements in one icon as low as possible. But still, MicrosoftÒs artists, excited by the new icon format featured in Windows Vista, decided to go big and drew over packed icons to justify their bloated budget. #3 Unnecessary objects An icon should be easy to read. The fewer elements it holds, the better. It is great if the whole image makes sense and not just a part of it. Therefore, you have to pay attention to the context of using icons. Take the database icons, for example. The pack may look fine at a first glance, but if this application (or a specific toolbar) deals only with databases, we can (and we must) remove the irrelevant part. #4 Non-unified style within a pack of icons It is a similar style that turns several icons into a set. The uniting property can be one of the following: similar colors, layout, size, artistic style or several of those properties combined. If the icon set is rather small, the designer can keep some rules in his head. However, if the icon set is large and there are several designers working on them (for example, icons for a new OS), then specific guidelines should be developed. Such instructions carefully describe how to draw an icon so that it perfectly fits into the rest of the pack. #5 Spare details in small sized images The progress is moving fast: interfaces have gained the potential to use semi-transparent items, the number of possible colors to use became unlimited and there is now a move 3D icons. But is it really all that helpful? Not necessarily! Especially if we are looking at icons sized 16?16 or smaller. #6 Misusing original symbols Selecting what is to be included in an icon is constantly a compromise between readability and originality. Prior to a metaphor (image) is developed for an icon it is smart to see how it is designed in other products. Maybe the best solution lies not in inventing something original but rather in adopting the common solution. #7 National or social differences not being considered It is always helpful to consider the conditions in which your icon will be used. An important aspect here is ethnical characteristics. Cultural traditions, surroundings and gestures can vary dramatically from country to country. For example, a mail box would seam to be a perfect image for a ÓMailÔ icon. But you will see all the different kinds of mailboxes around the world. In that situation, you should either create an icon to copy the mailbox that is typical for the userÒs country or state, or chouse a more general symbol like a post stamp. #8 Images of real interface parts in icons The manual on designing icons for Mac OS X tells 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 two or even three separate ones. #9 Text embedded into icons This mistake is typically seen in application icons. Naturally the first thing that comes to mind when developing an application icon is to adapt the applicationÒs logo. What is wrong about the text inside the icon? First of all, it is strictly language-related and so forces localization. Secondly, if the icon is small, it is impossible to read the text. Also, in the case of application icons, this text is repeated in the caption of the software. #10 Outside the pixel framework This problem usually occurs if you use a vector editor for drawing icons. In large size everything looks stylish and crisp; but in real life the icons are small, and under rasterization anti-aliasing blurs 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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