I am proposing a new icon set for AOO 4.0 that will make them more usable and recognizable to users.

Our focus should be to be the best user experience, anywhere we can make an improvement is important.
To do this, you need to step out of your shoes and think "if I were a user would I care about X in this context?"

 

3.4.1

4.0 Proposed

Shape
256px

 
This is for documents.

The Templates are similarly designed
Rather than the page corner in the top right, its in the bottom right.
As well the top of the page has a solid color designating it as a template. 


More Usable? Yes.
- Primary Context (Application Designation - Red). Secondary Context (Application Brand - Green)
- Corner And Designator Color (keep from old design), user can identify the file type quickly by color and designator.
- Enlarged Designation, helps color blind and hard of seeing individuals.
- Mime designation, helps users differentiate file type when the above two fail to help, include when screen space permits  MIME Type is not important to this audience, brain-spill-over from my technical side, technical files like .XML & .XSD. -Samer.
   - Additionally, the color of the MIME type could be different for further differentiation of template files.
- Single gull, or maybe O or circle can satisfy secondary element, less busy yet gets the brand across.

64px

 
Optimal size, great for showing how fabulous and sophisticated our product is.


At this level we keep the MIME designation but the three characters at a little larger.

32px


At this level we should still be able to see the branding well as well as identifying the file type quickly


At this level we drop the MIME designation, space is limited and mime type becomes less likely to help identify or connect with the user.

16px


At 16px, space is limited, we want to be the least busiest.


Might need to drop the branding to make less busy. (Green)
Our focus should be to be the best user experience, and that might mean dropping the branding to be much more helpful to the user.

Legend

Green - Branding (Twin Gulls)
Red - Application Designation
Orange - Page Corner (Colored)

Green - Branding (Approx 1/8 icon)
Red - Application Designation (Approx 1/2 icon)
Orange - Colored Page Corner (Approx 1/8 icon)
Blue - MIME Designation (Approx 1/8 icon)

Tools To Complete Task

GIMP - Free - Can exports icon files with varying sizes. Tutorial on layer sizing and exporting: http://www.gimp-tutorials.net/How-to-make-an-icon-from-a-picture

Description

Current 3.4.1
256px (click to enlarge)

Base - .odb Database Document


Calc - .ods Spreadsheet


Calc - .ots Spreadsheet Template


Draw - .odg Drawing


Draw - .otg Drawing Template


Impress - .odp Presentation


Impress - .otp Presentation Template


Math - .odf Formula Document


Writer - .odm Master Document


Writer - .odt Text Document


Writer - .ott Text Template


Writer - .oth Web Template


Existing references and resources for icons:

http://www.openoffice.org/ui/VisualDesign/ODF_icons4print.html

http://www.openoffice.org/ui/VisualDesign/OOo30MimeType4print.html

http://www.openoffice.org/ui/VisualDesign/OOo_galaxy_mimetype.html

AOO.next Flat Desktop Icon Exploration

Submitted by Kevin Grignon

Palette is based on AOO blue as key colour.

AOO Desktop Icon Exploration - Samer Mansour 

Improvement in icons to emphasize file type (enlarged application icon and colours, decrease in birds and black styling taking up space.)

AOO Desktop Icon Exploration 2 (Round) - Samer Mansour

Rounded to match branding, Went flat, sharper, increased contrast between designator and background icon. Less busy, dropped the gulls.

Changed templates to be dotted, different perspective than we used in the past, left the solid bar at the top so previous 3.x users transition to new icon set.

Then I thought keep the circle theme going (lines don't scale down as nicely in circle version because its smaller to start with):

 

  • No labels

2 Comments

  1. Kay Schenk

    I love them all!

    But maybe some explanation is needed – at least for me – on what the various "views" represent.

  2. Kay Schenk

    Well...I personally still like the first batch the best – non-circle theme with gulls. Right now, I fell the gulls are really a defining image in our "brand". Without them, the other icons just seem lost to me.