English-Centric Icons
a day ago
- #language-barrier
- #user-experience
- #icon-design
- Discord's thread icon uses an English-centric design, which may confuse non-English speakers due to different translations.
- IntelliJ IDEA's library icon is based on books, which doesn't align with the Chinese term for 'library' (库), meaning a storage unit.
- Java's 'Bean' icon represents coffee beans, but non-English speakers may not associate it with the programming concept.
- Icons like 'pin' work well because they visually resemble real-life actions, making them language-independent.
- Good icon design should focus on the mental image the icon evokes, not just the name.
- Icons can be seen as a language system, using metaphors, associations, and combinations to represent abstract concepts.
- GitHub's icons for 'notifications' (inbox tray) and 'Pull Requests' (merge symbol) effectively use real-life associations and combinations.
- Designers should create icons that are intuitive across languages, treating icons as a visual language.