6 ms·

"The art of icon design is steadily being lost with each passing year."[citation needed]

by mayoff 11y ago

scott_s 11y ago
Same sentiment, without the snark: I was surprised to read that claim, because I have never heard it previously, nor do I see any reason for it to be so. I continually see new software and applications, and they typically have their own icons. Can anyone support or elaborate on the claim?
- ryanSrich 11y ago
  I pulled these from Eli's blog but they do a pretty good job of showing the "stripping" down or elimination of thought and effort in designing icons. Number 5 does the best job in conveying his claim. 1. http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54bb4cfce4b045585ada36f7/t/55937005e4b09c6a2750c3c4/1435725830621/?format=1500w http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54bb4cfce4b045585ada36... 2. http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54bb4cfce4b045585ada36f7/t/559cde80e4b041328d049040/1436343938072/?format=1500w http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54bb4cfce4b045585ada36... 3. http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54bb4cfce4b045585ada36f7/t/55487400e4b05f76c297a840/1430811649749/?format=1500w http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54bb4cfce4b045585ada36... 4. http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54bb4cfce4b045585ada36f7/t/554874a8e4b0b2091800b1e4/1430811817756/?format=1500w http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54bb4cfce4b045585ada36... 5. http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54bb4cfce4b045585ada36f7/t/553f08dae4b0bcaa5285522c/1430194395870/?format=1500w http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54bb4cfce4b045585ada36...
  - an_ko 11y ago
    For reference, Eli's 4-part series of blog posts (where those images are from) starts here: http://www.elischiff.com/blog/2015/4/7/fall-of-the-designer-part-i-fashionable-nonsense http://www.elischiff.com/blog/2015/4/7/fall-of-the-designer-... Each part links to the next at the bottom.
  - vacri 11y ago
    Assuming that old is on the left and new is on the right: #1: victim of 'flat design' fad #2: another victim of 'flat design' - remember when 'shine' was the fashion? we now have 'shine fatigue' #3: i18n version works for all languages, plus any day that is not Monday the 4th #4: which is better depends on use case #5: newer icon has much clearer semantics. old icon looks pretty... but doesn't suggest 'adding' (assuming both icons are meant to mean the same thing) It seems to me that fashion is more responsible for the changing in icon than an erosion of skill. Certainly for #3, more thought and effort went into the icon on the right. We will soon move on from flat design, and people will claim that the next fashion trend is now the 'best ever'...
dmart 11y ago
Eli is known (especially around Designer News) for being very critical of the flat design trend. See pretty much any of his other recent blog posts for further evidence.
- scott_s 11y ago
  Am I correct in interpreting his claim to mean: The art of icon design that I like is steadily being lost?
  - ethanbond 11y ago
    You're correct in interpreting his claim to mean: Declaring that icon design is being lost is sure to stir up some senseless and unproductive controversy and will fit nicely into my series of equally unsubstantiated and sloppy critiques of design/designers/design industry.
  - derefr 11y ago
    Stripping away the politics, the objective claim is that the specific design skill required to make really tiny visually-distinctive skeuomorphs of objects is being left unexercised and untaught (and therefore might slip away) because graphic designers aren't using really tiny visually-distinctive skeuomorphs for much, instead having shifted right now to using more glyph-like or logotype-like stylizations. This claim (that the skill is being left unexercised and untaught) is one I would disagree with: these things are getting created, whether or not they're getting created as "icons." Depicting terrain and objects and inventories in a lot of video games require exactly the same skill, for example.
carlosrg 11y ago
Why do you need a citation, if you have two eyes? Just look at iOS or OS X included icons, or Windows 10 icons, or the App Store top 100 apps. Most icons are a flat background and some boring bland logo outline. We are in the dark ages of software-related design.
- jameshart 11y ago
  When was the classical age of app icon design then?
  - asgard1024 11y ago
    I would think around the first iPhone. In my opinion, flat design was "invented" as a cost saving measure. In fact the design of all other things around us follows a similar pattern - complexity and "vestigial" features are being reduced.
    - jameshart 11y ago
      In my experience, it's harder to design something simple than to design something complex.
      - asgard1024 11y ago
        Design - maybe. Craft - doubt it. The OP, as I read it, is talking primarily about craft being lost. Maybe I am cynical, but it's easier to hire couple students filling outlines all day than to have proper artists that can do coloring, shading.. This happened to architecture and interior decoration before. We have a nice railing in my house (Prague, middle class appartment block from 1890s) that would be too expensive to replace today, you would be lucky to find a blacksmith who can do that. Apparently, it was a normal thing 120 years ago. How come that with all the technology we have today, we can afford intricately crafted designs less and less? My only explanation is economic - people are cheap and so-called "simple" design is good enough. I think we are losing something. Instead having people skilled in craft we have them either unemployed or having some bullshit office jobs (I am no exception btw).

"The art of icon design is steadily being lost with each passing year."[citation needed]

by mayoff 11y ago

"The art of icon design is steadily being lost with each passing year."[citation needed]

Same sentiment, without the snark: I was surprised to read that claim, because I have never heard it previously, nor do I see any reason for it to be so. I continually see new software and applications, and they typically have their own icons. Can anyone support or elaborate on the claim?

ryanSrich 11y ago
I pulled these from Eli's blog but they do a pretty good job of showing the "stripping" down or elimination of thought and effort in designing icons. Number 5 does the best job in conveying his claim. 1. http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54bb4cfce4b045585ada36f7/t/55937005e4b09c6a2750c3c4/1435725830621/?format=1500w http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54bb4cfce4b045585ada36... 2. http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54bb4cfce4b045585ada36f7/t/559cde80e4b041328d049040/1436343938072/?format=1500w http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54bb4cfce4b045585ada36... 3. http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54bb4cfce4b045585ada36f7/t/55487400e4b05f76c297a840/1430811649749/?format=1500w http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54bb4cfce4b045585ada36... 4. http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54bb4cfce4b045585ada36f7/t/554874a8e4b0b2091800b1e4/1430811817756/?format=1500w http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54bb4cfce4b045585ada36... 5. http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54bb4cfce4b045585ada36f7/t/553f08dae4b0bcaa5285522c/1430194395870/?format=1500w http://static1.squarespace.com/static/54bb4cfce4b045585ada36...
- an_ko 11y ago
  For reference, Eli's 4-part series of blog posts (where those images are from) starts here: http://www.elischiff.com/blog/2015/4/7/fall-of-the-designer-part-i-fashionable-nonsense http://www.elischiff.com/blog/2015/4/7/fall-of-the-designer-... Each part links to the next at the bottom.
- vacri 11y ago
  Assuming that old is on the left and new is on the right: #1: victim of 'flat design' fad #2: another victim of 'flat design' - remember when 'shine' was the fashion? we now have 'shine fatigue' #3: i18n version works for all languages, plus any day that is not Monday the 4th #4: which is better depends on use case #5: newer icon has much clearer semantics. old icon looks pretty... but doesn't suggest 'adding' (assuming both icons are meant to mean the same thing) It seems to me that fashion is more responsible for the changing in icon than an erosion of skill. Certainly for #3, more thought and effort went into the icon on the right. We will soon move on from flat design, and people will claim that the next fashion trend is now the 'best ever'...

dmart 11y ago

Eli is known (especially around Designer News) for being very critical of the flat design trend. See pretty much any of his other recent blog posts for further evidence.

scott_s 11y ago
Am I correct in interpreting his claim to mean: The art of icon design that I like is steadily being lost?
- ethanbond 11y ago
  You're correct in interpreting his claim to mean: Declaring that icon design is being lost is sure to stir up some senseless and unproductive controversy and will fit nicely into my series of equally unsubstantiated and sloppy critiques of design/designers/design industry.
- derefr 11y ago
  Stripping away the politics, the objective claim is that the specific design skill required to make really tiny visually-distinctive skeuomorphs of objects is being left unexercised and untaught (and therefore might slip away) because graphic designers aren't using really tiny visually-distinctive skeuomorphs for much, instead having shifted right now to using more glyph-like or logotype-like stylizations. This claim (that the skill is being left unexercised and untaught) is one I would disagree with: these things are getting created, whether or not they're getting created as "icons." Depicting terrain and objects and inventories in a lot of video games require exactly the same skill, for example.

carlosrg 11y ago

Why do you need a citation, if you have two eyes? Just look at iOS or OS X included icons, or Windows 10 icons, or the App Store top 100 apps. Most icons are a flat background and some boring bland logo outline. We are in the dark ages of software-related design.

jameshart 11y ago
When was the classical age of app icon design then?
- asgard1024 11y ago
  I would think around the first iPhone. In my opinion, flat design was "invented" as a cost saving measure. In fact the design of all other things around us follows a similar pattern - complexity and "vestigial" features are being reduced.
  - jameshart 11y ago
    In my experience, it's harder to design something simple than to design something complex.
    - asgard1024 11y ago
      Design - maybe. Craft - doubt it. The OP, as I read it, is talking primarily about craft being lost. Maybe I am cynical, but it's easier to hire couple students filling outlines all day than to have proper artists that can do coloring, shading.. This happened to architecture and interior decoration before. We have a nice railing in my house (Prague, middle class appartment block from 1890s) that would be too expensive to replace today, you would be lucky to find a blacksmith who can do that. Apparently, it was a normal thing 120 years ago. How come that with all the technology we have today, we can afford intricately crafted designs less and less? My only explanation is economic - people are cheap and so-called "simple" design is good enough. I think we are losing something. Instead having people skilled in craft we have them either unemployed or having some bullshit office jobs (I am no exception btw).