Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!pdn!dinsdale!reggie
From: reggie@dinsdale.nm.paradyne.com (George W. Leach)
Newsgroups: comp.editors
Subject: Re: Iconitis
Message-ID: <5920@pdn.paradyne.com>
Date: 11 Apr 89 16:16:33 GMT
References: <1930@dataio.Data-IO.COM> <988@starfish.Convergent.COM> <1402@auspex.auspex.com>
Sender: news@pdn.paradyne.com
Reply-To: reggie@dinsdale.paradyne.com (George W. Leach)
Organization: AT&T Suncoast Division, Largo FL
Lines: 33

In article <1402@auspex.auspex.com> guy@auspex.auspex.com (Guy Harris) writes:

>Not necessarily.  Consider, for example, an icon for a mail-reading
>program, in the form of a US-style mailbox.  If used in some country
>where the US-style mailboxes, with the little flag on the side, aren't
>used, it won't necessarily mean anything.  I think the Sun386i uses a
>different icon for "mailtool", for precisely this reason; unfortunately,
[text deleted]

    THe AT&T UNIX PC utilized an icon that signalled the arrival of mail.
It was simply an envelope that would appear at a designated position on
the screen.  When mail was read the icon was removed from the display.
A user could not select the icon and bring up a mail reader, but I believe
the symbol used is somewhat recognizable anywhere in the world.  The US-style
mailbox is not even common throughout the US!!!  I grew up in an area where
I never saw one, except on a farm on TV :-)

>The bottom line is that there is *no* guarantee that, merely by using an
>icon, people of all nations - or even people of *your* nation - will
>automatically know to what the icon refers.

   Right!  The power of an icon is recognition of what it represents.  The
ability to reduce the number of commands that must be recalled in order to
perform a task is the goal of why you want to use icons, menus, etc....
By designing icons that are not recognized by the user you defeat the purpose
of them in the first place!  I often find myself struggling with the
"intuitive" Mac.


George W. Leach					AT&T Paradyne 
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