Goldilocks and the Three Icons
Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Robert Southey is a classic tale about a young girl trespassing the home of three bears. Throughout the tale, Goldilocks causes damage while trying to find what is “just right” in the home. In the end, she is driven out of the home at the return of the three bears. On a more philosophical level, Goldilocks is strung between self concern/preservation and transgressive social rule breaking. It is a lesson about how your actions may impact others. How does this relate to iconography? Well, similar to Goldilocks, let’s dive right in and find out.
A Very Brief History of Icons
Believe it or not, icons did not always take the iconic form they have today (pun intended). In 1981, the world was introduced to the first GUI (Graphical User Interface) based computing system with the Xerox 8010 Star. Thus the birth of icons, a new way to communicate meaning to a user. It wasn’t until ten years later with the Macintosh System 7 where color was introduced to icons.
But icons did not stop there. The addition of light, depth, and reflections sparked a change in icons. They started becoming visually appealing and enhanced the aesthetic of a design. To this day, icons continue to change to offer the user the best experience.
The Three Icons
Icons can be split into three groups: universal, conflicting, and unique.
Universal icons are icons that are universally recognized by users. Home. Print. Search. Chances are, you and I both envisioned similar icons for those words. Universal icons are the baby bears of the icon world. They are perfect. The users are able to understand it universally. They know what to expect. That being said, universal icons are rare. Though, it is possible to expand the collection of universal icons. Some icons, such as the Hamburger Menu, are beginning to become universal icons.
Then we have conflicting icons. These are the ones where there could be a few different icons that represent a meaning. Think about the favorite icon. Did you imagine a heart or a star? Trending. Fire or up arrow?
There are conflicting beliefs for what certain icons should be, which causes problems. As the Nielsen Norman Group put it,
“This absence of a standard hurts the adoption of an icon over time, as users cannot rely on it having the same functionality every time it is encountered.”
That’s right, icons can harm usability. This defeats the entire purpose of an icon, to enhance functionality with visual cues.
Lastly, there is the unique icon. They are usually the result of a company trying to be unique in their approach towards an icon by creating an entirely new one than any other that exists. This results in confusing the user. The user expects a certain icon to complete a function. When they cannot identify how to do that function, it is as though that function is not there. Adding unique icons into the pool of icons is only adding more work on the user’s end. The user should not be expected to recall a unique icon for a specific design.
And it was Just Right
Universal icons are always the best option when using icons. That being said, those icons are rare, and it is understandable why it may be needed to use conflicting or in certain cases unique icons. If you do, Nielsen Norman Group suggests you always add a visual text label. This is the best way to clear up any of that confusion that may have been caused from the icon. As Bruce Tognazzini once said,
“a word is worth a thousand pictures.”
Though a word may not be as visually appealing as an icon, it is needed for the user to understand what it means. The chances of messing up the meaning of a word are far less than messing up a picture. It will quickly resolve any questions the user may have regarding the functionality of the icon.
The Moral of the Story
As creators, we are Goldilocks, and our actions affect our users. We want our users to have the best experience possible. Having clear and well defined icons will allow our creations to function properly. Functionality should always come first.
This article was written in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Fall 2020 section of DMD 3035 — Interaction Design at the University of Connecticut, Digital Media & Design Department.