C H A P T E R 1 1

Icons

Tips for Designing Aqua Icons

Many of the suggestions listed here also apply to graphics you develop for your application, for example, to augment a label or list item.

■For great-looking Aqua icons, have a professional graphic designer create them.

■Perspective and shadows are the most important components of making good Aqua icons. Use a single light source with the light coming from above the icon.

■Use universal imagery that people will easily recognize. Avoid focusing on a secondary aspect of an element. For example, for a mail icon, a rural mailbox would be less recognizable than a postage stamp.

■Strive for simplicity. Try to use a single object that captures the icon’s action or represents the control. Start with a basic shape.

■Use color judiciously to help the icon tell its story; don’t add color just to make the icon more colorful. Smooth gradients typically work better than sharp delineations of color.

■Avoid using Aqua interface elements in your icons; they could be confused with the actual interface.

■Don’t use replicas of Apple hardware products in your icons. These symbols are copyrighted and hardware designs change frequently.

■Design toolbar icons at their actual size (32 by 32). For other icons, concentrate on perfecting your icon’s look at 128 by 128 and work down from there. It usually works best if you scale down elements independently and then combine them, rather than scaling the entire icon at once.

218Tips for Designing Aqua Icons

Apple Computer, Inc. June 2002