William Horton
The icon book
Visual symbols for computer systems and documentation
John Wiley & Sons, 1994
432 pages
ISBN: 0-4715-9901-8

A very good book, explaining in depth all things iconic: from history and theory of the icon design, through various classifications of icons, to development and testing. Hundreds of icons serve as an example in the book and on the attached diskette (650 KB). What’s impressive is that they are not just lifted from various GUIs, but drawn by author especially for this occassion (however, the book also contains various real life case studies). Impressive and inspiring, even 10 years after the publish date.

The following paragraphs are quoted verbatim from the back cover:

User-interface icons are much more than on-screen decorations. Icons play an integral role in enhancing end-user productivity and an application’s overall success. Written by a seasoned design professional, The Icon Book presents clear, step-by-step guidelines for designing instantly recognizable, fully understandable, and reliably memorable computer icons and icon sets for domestic and international use. You’ll find heavily illustrated, research-based accounts on every aspect of the icon design process – from initial planning to refining and testing techniques – plus real-world insights for avoiding problems that can occur in translation to international markets. The Icon Book:

	Presents strategies and methods for encoding meaning in icons, developing iconic languages and a consistent design style, using color and other design tools, and achieving management goals
	Offers suggestions for representing complex, “unpicturable” concepts and indicates when not to use icons
	Includes a comprehensive icon glossary
	A valuable resource for user-interface designers, developers, programmers, computer-based trainers, graphic and multimedia designers, and technical writers

William Horton is President of William Horton Consulting and the author of several books, including Illustrating Computer Documentation and Designing and Writing Online Documentation.