Understanding the Image Functions for Icon Design

Abstract

Because icons vary from very representational to extremely abstract symbols in a user interface, an important issue faced by designers when designing an icon is how to select an appropriate design style for the image. There are no simple rules that can be followed by designers to determine the design style. The present study is intended to help designers to choose a proper design style for the icon at an early design stage. First, a classification of icons is summarized and the levels of stylization are discussed and demonstrated with examples. Then, thirty icons from several drawing packages and generally used symbols are selected, and a matching test is conducted to obtain the correct matching rates. The results are presented with some explanations for icon recognition and confusion, and finally how to select the right image function for icon design is discussed.