Week 1B

Today in class we had a micro project. We were to pick a movie and create 4 icons that told the story of that movie. Megan and Eric were in my group and we picked the movie The Breakfast Club. This is out final product.

I designed the second icon.

Week 1A Outside of Class

Outside of class, we read "Spotify Iconset" and "An Icon is Worth 1,000 Words." Here are my notes:

Spotify Iconset

• the author states that when he starts an icon project (which he calls the 'discovery phase'), he picks just a few icons to focus on
• he states that one of the challenges was trying to represent something that didn't actually have a physical form
• there are 4 main sizes for each icon 16, 24, 32, and 64px
• as the size increases, the stroke widths needs to be scaled to a lesser degree so the icons don't look too chunky when shown in a larger scale
• opt for the simplest metaphor in each case
• rounded corners seem to work better than sharp edges
• they tried using busts for the mood section but decided it was too obscure

An Icon is Worth 1,000 Words

• UX designer James Foster conducted a test and found that the hamburger icon is less clear than the simple word "menu"
• icons take up less space
• Google states that, "an icon is a quick, intuitive representation of an action, a status, or an app"
• use vector images and design the image on a larger art board
• icons are intuitive and they are small
• icons are best used for the following situations:
• companies with time to train employees on icon meanings
• international applications where language barriers preclude the use of text
• the very young and not yet literate, which are becoming a common tablet audience
• small screen spaces requiring multiple and complex buttons
• one issue with icons is the speed with which new features are being developed
• this can cause popular icons to go out of style or the image's meaning may change over time
• icons can also be recognized as different meanings in different countries
• the use of text AND icons is best used in these situations:
• applications used by multiple cultures with different meanings for iconography
• older or less technically savvy audiences
• applications with a few very important actions or buttons
• applications needing a very fast learning curve
• icons can make or break the usability of an interface
• icons use is context-specific

Week 1A

Today in class we briefly viewed previous students' work that was mentioned on Above the Fold's website. Then we went through the syllabus and the student info form. We also changed our folders on the server, created a new blog, registered for the IIDC conference, and ordered text books. Lastly, we filled out the student info form/contract and emailed it to Professor Pannafino.