[icons] browser, settings and calculator icons too similar to another well known mobile O/S

[James Hunt]

The browser and system settings icons in image #165 looks extremely similar in both content and colour to another well-known mobile operating system. IMHO they are also too busy

Please can we change these to make them simpler and more uniquely Ubuntu.

[James Hunt (jamesodhunt)]

... Same applies to the calculator and the camera. And yet, oddly, other icons deviate distinctly (such as the calendar).

[Michał Sawicz (saviq)]

These icons belong to the respective apps (and the suru theme lp:ubuntu-icon-themes), unity8 just displays them.

[Sam Bull (dreamsorcerer)]

I'd also like to point out that some of these icons don't even make sense. A quote taken from http://asktog.com/atc/principles-of-interaction-design/ :

"The inverse of skeuomorphism is abstraction, a prominent feature in so-called flat design, a fashion that took hold in 2013, turning once well-understood icons and other elements into meaningless abstractions and even false symbols. (For example, the icon for the browser on the iPhone became a compass, only connected to the concept of the web through the vaguest of abstractions. The iPhone has an actual compass, so they turned its icon into… another compass! Two compass icons: One tells you which way is north and the other connects you to your bank account. The Settings icon had originally looked like the inner workings of a clock, clearly carrying the message that this is an app that will let you see and affect the inside workings of the iPhone. That was abstracted to the point that it looks exactly like a large industrial fan.)"

[xreuze (xreuze)]

Silo 3 with Q of

On Sat, Aug 2, 2014 at 2:23 PM, Sam Bull <email address hidden> wrote:

> I'd also like to point out that some of these icons don't even make
> sense. A quote taken from http://asktog.com/atc/principles-of-
> interaction-design/ :
>
> "The inverse of skeuomorphism is abstraction, a prominent feature in so-
> called flat design, a fashion that took hold in 2013, turning once well-
> understood icons and other elements into meaningless abstractions and
> even false symbols. (For example, the icon for the browser on the iPhone
> became a compass, only connected to the concept of the web through the
> vaguest of abstractions. The iPhone has an actual compass, so they
> turned its icon into… another compass! Two compass icons: One tells you
> which way is north and the other connects you to your bank account. The
> Settings icon had originally looked like the inner workings of a clock,
> clearly carrying the message that this is an app that will let you see
> and affect the inside workings of the iPhone. That was abstracted to the
> point that it looks exactly like a large industrial fan.)"
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to Ubuntu
> Touch Core Apps.
> Matching subscriptions: Touch Core Apps Bugs, Unity 8
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1351424
>
> Title:
> browser, settings and calculator icons too similar to another well
> known mobile O/S
>
> Status in Camera App:
> New
> Status in Calculator application for Ubuntu devices:
> New
> Status in Ubuntu UX bugs:
> New
> Status in Web Browser App:
> New
> Status in “ubuntu-system-settings” package in Ubuntu:
> New
> Status in “unity8” package in Ubuntu:
> Invalid
>
> Bug description:
> The browser and system settings icons in image #165 looks extremely
> similar in both content and colour to another well-known mobile
> operating system. IMHO they are also too busy
>
> Please can we change these to make them simpler and more uniquely
> Ubuntu.
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/camera-app/+bug/1351424/+subscriptions
>

[Matthew Paul Thomas (mpt)]

Confirmed for the Calculator, where the only differences are brown and grey swapped and a light drop shadow.

But the Browser, Camera, and System Settings icons all look very different to me. The Browser icon may include a compass, but that's a problem of confusion (as Sam Bull cites), not of visual similarity. It has a very different color, depth, markings, and background.

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

the settings don't ship an icon, that one is coming from the theme

[Olivier Tilloy (osomon)]

I have to agree that the webbrowser’s icon looks very similar to Safari’s. Whether that’s desirable is, I guess, up for debate.

[Daniel van Vugt (vanvugt)]

I don't think this will be fixed now.