I use fewer applications than I used a few years ago (a lot of them got "eaten" by the web browser or by emacs), and still have difficulties telling them apart

I use fewer applications than I used a few years ago (a lot of them got "eaten" by the web browser or by emacs), and still have difficulties telling them apart with "modern" icon themes. This isn't because there are so many applications (they're fewer!) but because the icons are all flat, non-descript and brightly-colored. Virtually all of them consist of a single geometrical shape or a capital letter on a contrasting-color background. I know this is supposed to be "honest" and "clean" and to present "the essence" of that application. It sounds great on paper or in a book on design, but it's absolutely terrible on a computer screen.