kicad-developers team mailing list archive

[Fabrizio Tappero <fabrizio.tappero@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hello,

Following and integrating the feedback from all you guys, here we have some
new main kicad icons. Looks is still not completely polished.

To make Wayne happy I have even included a pretty pen in some main icons !
 ;-)

cheers
Fabrizio


On Thu, Jul 7, 2016 at 9:36 AM, Fabrizio Tappero <fabrizio.tappero@xxxxxxxxx
> wrote:

> thanks Chris,
> we will definetly take in consideration you inputs.
>
> cheers
> Fabrizio
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 4:46 PM, Chris Pavlina <pavlina.chris@xxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
>
>> On Wed, Jul 06, 2016 at 06:14:26AM -0400, Wayne Stambaugh wrote:
>> > That's a fair question that I'm not sure I can answer.  Can we
>> > reasonably assume that the user expects the default action to be edit as
>> > opposed to view or any other action?  I just don't know.  I do know that
>> > icons should be reasonable (which is always subject to interpretation)
>> > metaphors for the action they represent.  In this case the metaphors are
>> > edit a symbol library and edit a footprint library.
>>
>> Disclaimer: I haven't looked through the icons yet. I'm at work doing a
>> bit of
>> https://xkcd.com/303/ .
>>
>> But... I'm strongly opposed to having a bunch of 'pencils' and stuff in
>> the
>> icons. KiCad has a *lot* of icons, and the priorities of the icon designer
>> should be to make them 1) unique, and 2) quickly distinguishable from each
>> other. The icon doesn't have to say *everything*, nobody is going to
>> break out
>> a magnifying lens to look at every little thing in the drawing and figure
>> out
>> what it does when it's a little picture displaying a centimeter across on
>> their
>> monitor. Icons are there for after you have a rough idea of what the tool
>> does,
>> to quickly find a target to click on. Adding features like pencils to
>> icons
>> increases the similarity of different ones, increasing the amount of time
>> it
>> takes a user to discern them. It's bad design.
>>
>> >
>> > On 7/6/2016 6:10 AM, Simon Wells wrote:
>> > > As the normal is edit is there really a need of a pencil icon as
>> > > opposed to just having the magnifying glass on gerbview as its only a
>> > > viewer?
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 9:22 PM, Wayne Stambaugh <stambaughw@xxxxxxxxx>
>> wrote:
>> > >> On 7/6/2016 3:20 AM, Fabrizio Tappero wrote:
>> > >>> Dear All,
>> > >>> few years have passed since the last main Kicad icon restyling. In
>> my
>> > >>> opinion, the current icons are serving us quite well except for
>> very few
>> > >>> which could use a little face lift.
>> > >>>
>> > >>> The few icons that make me particularly itchy are the main Kicad
>> icons
>> > >>> for which this very imposing pencil does not play very well. I know
>> that
>> > >>> some of your really want a pencil to suggest that those tools are
>> for
>> > >>> editing. The truth is that now a days icons can be a little more
>> subtle.
>> > >>>
>> > >>> I'd like to propose these new set of icons for the main KiCad
>> toolbar.
>> > >>> Please let me know what you think and please if there is anybody who
>> > >>> wants to help out please, now is the moment.
>> > >>>
>> > >>> Cheers
>> > >>> Fabrizio
>> > >>>
>> > >>
>> > >> Fabrizio,
>> > >>
>> > >> The symbol library editor bitmap is too generic.  We have two library
>> > >> editors, a symbol library editor and a footprint library editor.
>> Your
>> > >> proposed symbol library editor icon is ambiguous (it just an icon
>> for a
>> > >> library metaphor).  If it had a symbol such as and op-amp
>> superimposed
>> > >> over the top of the books, that may be more clear.  I may also need
>> some
>> > >> edit metaphor (such as the pencil in the current icon) as well
>> because
>> > >> it could be confused as library viewer rather than and editor.
>> Although
>> > >> our current icon is also ambiguous.  It looks like you are going to
>> open
>> > >> a text editor.
>> > >>
>> > >> Your footprint library editor icon could be confusing as well.  Most
>> PCB
>> > >> layout users are familiar with the concept of component footprints.
>> > >> It's what they do.  The human footprint may be more familiar to
>> > >> non-technical users but I don't think that is relevant for KiCad
>> users.
>> > >> There is also no edit metaphor.  Perhaps you should use your symbol
>> > >> library editor icon with a component footprint and some edit metaphor
>> > >> (pencil?) superimposed over top of it for the footprint library
>> editor icon.
>> > >>
>> > >> Cheers,
>> > >>
>> > >> Wayne
>> > >>
>>
>>
>

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