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"A word is worth a thousand pictures". — Apple HIG In 1985, after a year of finding that pretty but unlabeled icons confused customers, the Apple human interf
by nntwozz 2y ago
"A word is worth a thousand pictures".
— Apple HIG
In 1985, after a year of finding that pretty but unlabeled icons confused customers, the Apple human interface group took on the motto "A word is worth a thousand pictures.
https://www.asktog.com/columns/038MacUITrends.html https://www.asktog.com/columns/038MacUITrends.html
Linked from Daring Fireball back in the day.
https://daringfireball.net/linked/2010/05/12/tog-word https://daringfireball.net/linked/2010/05/12/tog-word
- gcau 2y agoThis is advice many modern designers need to know - I don't like seeing an icon and having no idea what it does without clicking it, and having to guess what the icon might mean, where a label could easily fit, or replace the icon, and be a vastly better UX, but "looking good" is more important to most designers.
- nemomarx 2y agoI always assumed it was to avoid translation work?
- zerocrates 2y agoI've seen some contexts where this is what's happening. IKEA instructions would be one, or I've also seen it in some board games, where things like cards will use icons so only the instruction book needs to be translated. But in UIs you usually have to have some text equivalent somewhere, on hover or long-press or in a menu or just as text for screenreader users, so you don't generally get to avoid translation even if you take visible labels away.
- thfuran 2y ago>I don't like seeing an icon and having no idea what it does without clicking it And that's assuming you're lucky enough to be using a UI that clearly marks what's interactible instead of being maximally flat.