"Reaction [beta]"
Susan Kare - design icon 5 Mar 2007
Seems like we're always mentioning the inappropriate use of iconography in our usability inspections at the moment, so we thought we'd publish a pointer to the master of icon design, Susan Kare. Susan designed the original set of icons for the Mac, before developing the "nearly-3D" (2.5D) user interface for Microsoft's Windows 3.0.
"My work has continued to be motivated by respect for, and empathy with, users of software. I believe that good icons are more akin to road signs rather than illustrations, and ideally should present an idea in a clear, concise, and memorable way."
Descendants of her groundbreaking work can still be seen in many of today's graphics applications - like the Lasso, Grabber and Paint Bucket, for example. Kare's Chicago typeface lives on as part of the iPod's UI.
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2 comments so far
Brendan R 5 Mar 2007 03:16 PM
Susan says that her challenge was to "counter the stereotypical image of computers as cold and intimidating." Its amazing that she achieved it, what with the constraints of the system she was working with (black and white, lo-res, limited memory etc. etc.)
Simon 6 Mar 2007 01:04 PM
Brendan: Yeah, Kare's work is a great example of embracing the constraints and squeezing the best possible solution out of them.