I am proposing a new icon set for AOO 4.1 that will make them more usable and recognizable to users.
Our focus should be to be the best user experience. 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 | 4.1 Proposed | Comments |
|---|
Shape
256px |  
| 
| This is an example size for document instances. The Templates are similarly designed.
The top of the icon has a solid color differing and designating it as a template file.
4.1 Proposed
More Usable? Yes. Why?
- Primary Context (Application Designation - Red) has greatest focus. Users don't care to see Secondary Context (Application Branding - Green aka 'the gulls'), it's nice to have, but users are fairly familiar that the file will open with Apache OpenOffice, so no need to remind users everyday/ no value added. On top it complicates shrunk/smaller icons. A compromise is to drop it from small icons, where its obscure and illegible.
- 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.
Green - Branding (Twin Gulls)
Red - Application Designation
Orange - Page Corner (Colored) |
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. |
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 | 
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Calc - .ods Spreadsheet | 
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Calc - .ots Spreadsheet Template | 
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Draw - .odg Drawing | 
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Draw - .otg Drawing Template | 
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Impress - .odp Presentation | 
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Impress - .otp Presentation Template | 
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Math - .odf Formula Document | 
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Writer - .odm Master Document | 
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Writer - .odt Text Document | 
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Writer - .ott Text Template | 
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Writer - .oth Web Template | 
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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):
Zipped Icons:
Icon Set Round.zip
Icon Set Alt.zip
One more example for comparison on Windows 8 (can be done by Properties->Shortcut->Change Icon... dialog in windows):
You can see how having a circle or rounded square makes the Icon slightly less readable/less pixels to work with. BTW The anti aliasing isn't fine tuned.
Oct 15th - Logo with offset - Samer Mansour
Logo with offset (new style of previous icons)
November 23rd
Feb 17th - Samer
Fine tuned pixels in inkscape "Icon Preview" under File Menu "View" -> "Icon Preview", If you will be modifying please see changes under that view to see if it causes pixelation or drowning of color.
Main Icons.zip - Mar 5 (Mac and Windows)
File Icons.zip - Mar 4 (Impress, Draw and Math)
Working on more file icons tomorrow.
Icon Ideas | Pros | Cons |
|---|
Keep Gulls | Branding (arguable how this is beneficial though)
(Brand name is on icon tile/start menu and on hover too) | Makes Icons busier at smaller sizes |
Square | Looks like an App, user is familiar.
More space for colour, enforces what app it is. | Tougher to see when small
This isn't a mobile app, most desktop applications are any shape they want to be. |
Circle | Looks like logo, consistency is neat idea.
More space for colour, enforces what app it is. | Toughest to see when small |
No Background | Easier to see when < 48px, majority of icon's life is < 48px (Windows). | Can be a shock at first. |