3 ms·
On the one hand icons can be a great crutch when trying to use a program in a foreign language, on the other, humanity has spent thousands of years developing a
by somat 3y ago
On the one hand icons can be a great crutch when trying to use a program in a foreign language, on the other, humanity has spent thousands of years developing a rich system to convoy meaning that is thrown away when going to icons only. Sometimes it feels we are back to caveman level tech.
My personal pet peeve are washing instruction icons. Yes it is a simple easy to learn consistent system. None of which helps me when I am at the machine trying to decide what the hell this squiggle is trying to tell me. If I were smarter I would tape a decode sheet to my machine.
the koan is.
A picture is worth 10K words -- but only those to describe
the picture. Hardly any sets of 10K words can be adequately described
with pictures.
- porridge_ 3y agoThe saying goes "a picture is worth a thousand words." I've found the exchange rate to be more dynamic. Many ideas are better put with words. Others with images. What I take issue with is the idea that words and images are in competition. Each has its own use case. Contorting an image to do the job of a word demonstrates a lack of communicative ability, and vice-versa.
- xp84 3y agoIn case you're near a printer right now, the poster you'll find on this page[1] is taped by my washer and I've found it quite helpful! [1] https://www.parkersdrycleaners.com/2011/05/care-label-tags/ https://www.parkersdrycleaners.com/2011/05/care-label-tags/ Note: No endorsement of, or affiliation with Parker's Dry Cleaners.
- makeitdouble 3y agoWashing instructions are internationally standardized though, and if you really wanted to you'd look them on your phone. I don't want a hippy brand to write a 50 lines poem instead. Nor do I want "woogie boogie wash only" jargonning that felt cute to the copy righter, nor do I want to try to understand the Indian instructions.
- WalterBright 3y agoEnglish is the official language of India.