Why skins are a bad idea
Standardisation of symbology is the basis of communication. For something to be an icon, it must be iconic. For this to be so, it must be
- Instantly recognisable
- Unambiguous in interpretation
These are good icons.
The first icon is very obviously a printer, yet it isn’t obvious what sort of printer. This is exactly what you want when you’re trying to represent a whole class of thing. The man and woman in the toilet sign are equally generic, as is the wheelchair user.
The no-left-turn icon illustrates two things: composition and representation of an abstraction. This symbol relies on several conventions.
- An arrowhead (an icon in its own right) indicates direction.
- A bent arrow symbolises a change of direction while in motion.
- Up-the-page symbolises forward movement.
- Page-left symbolises left movement.
- A red circle with a diagonal slash symbolises negation of an idea.
Combining the first four we get left-turn. Negating this idea we have no-left-turn, which is exactly what this icon is supposed to mean. To be this precise in representing an abstraction is a remarkable feat of symbology.
While less spectacular in subtlety of meaning, these are all pretty much iconic:
Notice the reductionist removal of the individual button rendering, except when the mouse hovers over a particular button, in this case I. Once again convention plays a central role. The toolbar border is another symbol, and it tells the user that all these glyphs are buttons, except as otherwise indicated - the combobox retains its identifying paraphernalia.
For the sake of styling, Microsoft messed around with the icons in Windows Vista. The sample below is certainly prettier, but what is it? It could easily be a fax machine. It doesn’t look anything like the printers we have at the office.
For some reason it has a folder near it. What the blazes does that mean? In fact there is a long established and widely understood convention that the folder symbolises the logical grouping of things, in this case printers.
Most so-called icons are anything but. If you can look at a symbol and wonder what it means, then whatever else it may be, it isn’t iconic.
Window ornaments, on the other hand, are iconic. The Windows red X is so utterly iconic that even my mother doesn’t wonder what it means, as is the red octagon of a stop-sign.
For that matter, even the graphical representation of a button is iconic. Here are some buttons from various operating systems:
Never mind the word Cancel, the button itself is a symbol. It means click here to make something happen. The symbology is a direct and unsubtle representation of a physical button; this is a direct and complete metaphor and even the slowest learners pick it up immediately.
And here we get to the point I originally wanted to make: don’t mess with the symbols. A small degree of latitude is permissible for aesthetic purposes, but if it’s a button then make it look like a button, and if it isn’t then don’t.
Did you try to click on the link? It didn’t work because it isn’t a link. It’s some blue underlined text doing a wonderful job of illustrating how counterproductive it is to gratuitously reinvent the conventions of communication.
There are reasons we use majuscules at the start of sentences, commas for pauses and periods to terminate them. While you’re at it, learn some spelling and basic grammar. A compiler won’t put up with your Gen-Y nonsense, and neither will I.