Icons have always been found highly useful in limited digital environments and in diagrams, maps and other forms of visual communication. As a visual shorthand, it can label, inform, and aid navigation quickly and effectively in minimal space. At Think Design, we stepped back to discover how icons have been used from the earliest desktop days – in a pursuit to build on our current understanding, looking to appreciate and learn from the past, and look at the future informed by a lens of insights.
Stephen Dickens - Tushar Krishnan & Hari Nallan - August 2020
At Think Design, we created 4 separate infographics, each one providing a brief introduction into the iconography of each respective decade; 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. Let us look at how the last decade played a role in transforming how iconography has evolved until today.
Part 3/4
The 2000s – Dawn of the realistic icons
This decade became a time when more realistic, multi-layered, shiny and multi-shaded icons gained momentum. Apple smashed the idea of icons as symbols with photo illustrative icons, while a transition from teal and violet GUI used in both Apple and Microsoft systems, to bold blues, occurred. Emphasis on realism began as more smartphones started inundating the market, and meticulous details were captured to create life mimicking icons.
