Chrome just swapped out their wrench for the Android-esque 3-line symbol, as previously mentioned. The wrench was an iconic part of Chrome as they pioneered the minimalistic browser interface (now each of the major browsers has a similar feature in a similar location). And Chrome has been exposed to a much larger percentage of their potential userbase than Elementary.
Anyway, Elementary has seen a single release (Jupiter), which has hardly defined Elementary in my opinion. Elementary's identity is only in the beginning of its formation, and I think now is exactly the time to be making large changes (before its identity settles concretely in the minds of its users). If we agree a change is positive, let's not let branding stand in the way of a good user experience (I would rather Elementary's identity be tied to a positive and ever-improving user experience than a particular symbol or other static configuration). Furthermore, *minimalism is* "generic" and "lacking in personality" in contrast to many design styles; however, elementary stands out because it is minimalist and its personality is heralded by its subtlety. In addition to the 3 lines being the broader standard for such a UX feature, it also has the advantage of being more subtle, which seems to mesh with Elementary's design DNA. Just my $0.02 > > On Sun, Sep 30, 2012 at 3:59 PM, Keith Adair <[email protected]> wrote: > >> I think we'd be taking a major risk in changing that icon. To me, that >> cog has grown to be an iconic symbol of the elementary project, along with >> the two iterations of the "e" logo. It signifies simplification; that this >> program is so simple that it only requires on simple sub menu for options. >> A "lines" logo to me seems generic, and lacking in personality. The cog IS >> elementary, and has been since the meager days of elementary-nautilus. It >> seems to me that I would rather miss the little cog in exchange for a >> generic icon. >> On Sep 30, 2012 1:34 PM, "Craig" <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> I agree, Sam. I think this also highlights the importance of clearly >>> defining the intentional function for various UI components. Perhaps it >>> would be useful to separate out the various pieces of functionality into an >>> "overflow" component and a "settings" component (or separate out the >>> functionality differently). >>> >>> On Sun, Sep 30, 2012 at 3:19 PM, Sam Tate <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> Greetings, >>>> >>>> I think it's useful to get a discussion going every now and then about >>>> certain UX paradigms, no matter how small (we're all about attention to >>>> detail, right?) >>>> >>>> I really don't like the AppMenu icon. The concept is great - Android >>>> uses something very similar in the overflow menu, and other operating >>>> systems probably do too. It's a fantastic way to hide less commonly used >>>> buttons to stop the toolbar getting too cluttered. However, the cog icon >>>> doesn't make any sense to me. It sends the message of >>>> "Settings/Preferences" to the user, and this is *not *the only thing >>>> that the AppMenu is for. It houses About pages, functions (e.g. "Rescan >>>> music folder") and more. >>>> >>>> It would make more sense to change the icon to something similar to >>>> Chrome's "3 line" icon (http://i.imgur.com/ryKKG.png) which conveys >>>> the message much better. >>>> >>>> We should ideally try to do this before Luna, since the AppMenu is such >>>> a core part of the OS, and we don't want to alienate the flocks of new Luna >>>> users in L+1 by changing it then ;) >>>> >>>> Thoughts? >>>> >>>> Sam Tate >>>> >>>> -- >>>> Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~elementary-dev-community >>>> Post to : [email protected] >>>> Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~elementary-dev-community >>>> More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp >>>> >>>> >>> >>> -- >>> Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~elementary-dev-community >>> Post to : [email protected] >>> Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~elementary-dev-community >>> More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp >>> >>> >
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