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Introduction
Introduction A Picture Tells a Thousand Words With roots stretching as far back as the 1970's, the humble icon has come a long way. Evolving from black and white representations of office items into beautifully rendered illustrations of objects, symbols, characters and the same office items from the very beginning, icons have become a visual language that is understood the world over. Where a picture will tell a thousand words, a computer icon informs, educates and reassures its audience. Because icons are used for such specific purposes, creating a successful icon design is more of a science than an art. I came to icon design almost by accident. My first year out from University, I was hired to work in-house for a software company who needed an icons and UI illustrator. With two degrees in Multimedia and Communication Design and a portfolio of digital illustration, I stood out as a good candidate for the job. I had never given icon design much thought beyond the occasional replacement set, but knowing that this was a rare opportunity, I decided to jump in the deep end (with both feet!). I took the offer and a week later I was up to my eyeballs in specifications, requests and a back catalogue of previous designs. I was spending most of my time in review meetings with the development team, product management and even marketing. I quickly learned that when asked, everyone has an opinion, right or wrong. So here I was, stuck in the middle of the technical requirements of the development team and the aesthetic guides from marketing. To top it off, I was spending hours rendering images and all I had