Icons have been used for centuries as a way of communicating information through images. In ancient times, Egyptians used hieroglyphics to represent words and ideas. In medieval times religious paintings and sculptures were used to tell stories and convey ideas to people who could not read or write such as the Bayeux Tapestry telling the story of the Battle of Hastings in 1066
In the 1960s, icons began to be used in computer interfaces, starting with the use of a "pointing device" to select icons on a screen.
Susan Kare is a graphic designer who is best known for her work on the original Macintosh computer. She was responsible for creating many of the iconic graphics and icons that are still used today, such as the smiling Macintosh computer icon and the command key symbol. Her work helped to establish the visual language of early computer interfaces.
The designs she created for the Macintosh were all created in a Bitmap through 16 x 16 and 32 x 32 pixel grids. She said “the pixel limitations were helpful frameworks. They facilitated more minimalist and thus inclusive graphics as they left room for interpretation”
I looked at the Noun Project which is a collective library of icons which we should look at to get inspiration and help towards our master apprentice exercises as well as guiding us for our music app.
Otl Aicher is a German graphic designer best known for his work designing the visual identity for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Aicher designed a system of graphics and pictograms to represent the different sports and events of the Olympics. This system included simple, geometric icons that have since become iconic representations of the games. Aicher's work was highly influential towards future games design icons.
Icons are everywhere and are one of the key elements of UX/UI Design
