Inside Macintosh: Macintosh Human Interface Guidelines / Part 2 - The Interface Elements

Chapter 8 - Icons

This chapter describes icons, their appearance, and their use in the Macintosh interface. It presents information on how to design icons and general guidelines for designing icons of different sizes and bit depths. This chapter also describes how to customize the standard icons you can provide for your products.

Icons are graphic representations of objects such as documents, storage media, folders, applications, and the Trash. Icons look like their real-world counterparts whenever possible. People can select, open, move, copy, and throw away icons. Figure 8-1 shows some icons displayed in the Finder.

Figure 8-1 Common icons

Chapter Contents

Why Icons Work

Limitations of Icons

Designing Effective Icons

Use Appropriate Metaphors

Think About Worldwide Compatibility

Avoid Text in Icons

Design for the Macintosh Display

Use a Consistent Light Source

Optimize for Your Target Display

Maintain a Consistent Visual Appearance in an Icon Family

Use Icon Elements Consistently

The Finder Icon Family

An Icon Design Process

Black-and-White Icons

Color Icons

Icon Colors

The Apple Icon Color Set

Degradation of the Color Set Across Monitors

Selection Mechanism for Color Icons

Color Labeling Mechanism for Color Icons

Anti-Aliasing

Small Icons

Default and Custom Icons

Application Icons

Document Icons

Stationery Pad Icons

Query Document Icons

Edition Icons

Preferences Icons

Extension Icons

Control Panel Icons

Movable Resource Icons

Keyboard Icons