Projects/Usability/HIG/Style/Icons

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Purpose

Icon design should be consistent through the interface and match the visual design goals.

Guidelines

Monochrome Icons

Used for application toolbar actions, menus, and status and notifications. Also used for small (16x16) devices and places icons (folders, usb drives, etc.)
Rely on a distinct shapes instead of fine details to distinguish between them.
Color can be used for distinction (change of state, destructive actions, etc.).

Application icons

Unique and easily recognizable
Respect trademarks by avoiding significant alterations to other application icons

Other icons

Icons of a similar type use a consistent visual language (mimetypes, folders, devices, etc.)

General

Avoid using text in icon designs; it may not scale well to smaller sizes