The Iconography of Sharing: Windows has updated its share icon

https://medium.com/microsoft-design/the-iconography-of-sharing-183a1ad9c6f1#.szqn2o7yb

by andysinclair • 9 years ago

1 2 9 years ago

dexwiz• 9 years ago

An icon can also be successful in a ubiquitous way — something that’s universally accepted as a true representation regardless of its symbolic meaning.

I really dislike how fast icons have been changing over the last several years. Everyone has an opinion, and I am glad Microsoft went with something a bit more recognizable over what they felt was pure. The new icon matches the "send" mentality over the "share" social trope.

andysinclair• 9 years ago

I don’t understand why they didn’t test the old one in the usability labs BEFORE deciding to use it:

"From data in our usability labs, we’ve consistently seen people misunderstanding or looking past the icon in the user interface, especially when a label didn’t accompany it. When it stood alone, many people saw its circular shape and mistakenly interpreted it against other ring-shaped icons like sync or refresh or loading"

The Iconography of Sharing: Windows has updated its share icon

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