WEEKLY GEEKS | Notion

February 16, 2026

Graphics: the basis of effective human-computer interaction.

Icon: helps you find what you are looking for faster.

Why would adding icons everywhere be a bad idea?
- Nothing stands out anymore, while this is the whole point of adding an icon: to find things faster.
- Also color adds to this: with different colors they stand out more.
Requirements icons
- Consistency: users need to be able to learn what to look for.
  - This can be in just the icon (the direction of an arrow for example), or for functions with the same name but different icons.
  - Operations that are identical but found in different places should still have the same icon.
- No reuse: do not use the same icon for different actions.
  - User won’t find a menu item faster or understand it better if all icons are the same.
- Nuance: there can be slight differences in execution when looking at icons.
  - But if there are a lot of icons, it is hard to see the small details and thus users won’t understand.
- Recognizable from distance: you can’t rely on small details or in this case very small icons.
  - Pixels (every pixel) matter when there is a small space to work with.
    - In Tahoe Apple uses vector fonts (instead of bitmaps) > they work everywhere, but they look blurry.
  - Combination of small size and small details makes it deadly.

Other possible function of icons: to help users understand the meaning of the command.

If there is context given, icons could explain what’s going on faster than words.
- But!: this only works if the user understands what is drawn on the icon, so it is a familiar object for them.

We talked about overusing icons, but when there is a well-established metaphor, it can also be a mistake not to use them.

An interface element you can use for an icon, but only if it is not confusing.
- Two-level icon: rarely works.
If you can’t find a good metaphor, using no icon is better than using a bad icon.