Many printers do not resemble whatever print icon a particular app may
provide.
Apple's Mail app uses a paper airplane to mean Send. It is a loose
metaphor to be sure--and lacks any association whatsoever to the
accompanying sound effect. But it is understandable and probably more
recognizable and memorable than a sidewalk mailbox or a more accurate
SMTP server.
A spyglass would be a suboptimal tool for searching a room full of
files or the Library of Congress for all documents containing a
particular phrase. But it is recognizable and memorable, so that's
what most apps use to represent "search".
A paint brush for copying styles?
A single sheet of paper with a folded corner to represent what could
be a 400-page book, a 500-row spreadsheet or a two-hour movie?
A stagecoach to represent a bank?
Once an icon becomes established, it is easier to teach it to new
users than to re-teach a new icon to habituated users.
Storage media today range from disk drives encased in usually
rectangular boxes to circular optical discs to flash memory chips.
None are as distinctive and charming as an old-fashioned floppy. Using
any one of them might be taken to exclude the rest. For example, an
optical disc might be assumed to mean "Burn".
I think it would take a spectacularly clever icon to displace the
floppy for Save.
Larry Tesler
On Mar 19, 2009, at 9:09 AM, Jake Trimble wrote:
Has anyone seen any attempts to replace the standard floppy disk Save
icon? Seeing as most people haven't touched a 3.5" floppy in a decade,
is anyone addressing this archaic icon and how we can replace the
current mental model associated with it?
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