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Steve Jobs Defends New iTunes 10 Icon Against Criticism

TimTheEnchanter said:
Well, I am a senior graphic designer for about 30 years and all I have to say is....
Really? Seriously? People are actually upset by this?

It's like being upset that McDonalds changing the pickle icon on the burger box. It doesn't matter. :rolleyes:
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In all fairness, the icon was just as much of a problem with Apple as it is with these critics. Apple did change it afterall. I personally don't care what the icon looks like.
 
I think that it's an improvement.

CDs are on their way out. Plus it's cleaner and simpler design. Then again I tend to prefer "minimalist" style design anyway.

Just my opinion. I've been wrong before, just ask my ex-wife!

Cheers all!
 
I think they changed it just so they could make the iTunes icon the dot on the "i" in "Ping". Cutesy and lame.

Although they could've made it round and still look a lot better.
 
iTunes GUI is a preview of the Mac OS X GUI

For many years, Apple has put new GUI features in iTunes in advance of putting them in Mac OS X itself. I'd expect the grayish icons to spread to Safari and Mail and other apps eventually, especially in their Preferences windows. I happen to love the new icons in iTunes' Preferences window, but your mileage may vary.

As for the iTunes icon, I think it's better than the old one. The old one kind of got lost among all the more brightly-colored icons in the dock. The new one stands out better.

Apple's thinking was probably along the lines of "CDs are so 20th century. We need to get rid of the CD image in the iTunes icon." Followed by "But iTunes TV and movie sales and rentals aren't quite big enough to justify putting a TV screen on the iTunes logo."

Maybe the next iTunes logo will depict a TV screen with notes on it. (Or would that look too much like YouTube's icon?)
 
This is hilarious because as a fencer myself, there was an uproar about the USFA (United States Fencing Assocation) trying to rebrand itself with a new logo. When that came out a month ago, everyone hated the amateurish design that actually cost in the thousands, shocking a lot of people.

So, within that internet community, the USFA decided to go back to the old logo.

Now, I'm seeing this again on MacForums. But I find it very ironic that one Apple Fanboy on MacForums, a few months ago, calling Steve Jobs a "Michelangelo".

A "Michelangelo" and he pulls THIS kind of iTunes minimalist design. A lot of the Mac products have a 'feminine' design to it with rounded corners especially the thin and lightweight nature of them as if it's designed for those with limp wrists.

Personally, I'm getting a bit sick and tired of the nano-izing of Apple products, as if Apple is trying to be the Japanese in "Smaller is Better" mentality.

Sorry, but I had to get this out of my chest.
 
I'm amazed that this topic has created over 270 replies. I read the original...not wading through the debate over a logo. Get back to work...
 
macnerd93 said:
I'm sorry but if you knew about Apple icons you'd know they care ALOT about the icon detail even if its not visible all the time. If your using OS X 10.5 Leopard or 10.6 Snow Leopard go into Applications and view the text edit icon on its max size, that has the writing taken off Apple's famous 1997 Think Different commercial. The Apple pages icon is also impressive in the dock, the glass inkwell jar is transparent around the rim just like a real glass jar. I also love the Leopard icon for a PC on the network :D an UGLY CRT monitor with a BSOD on it LOL
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I was waiting for someone to point this out. There are people attacking this other user's attempt at a replacement icon on grounds that it's too busy with details hidden when it's shrunk on the dock.

Safari is very detailed. Can you see the individual dashes on your dock? Or even the Americas in the background?

Mail has a Cupertino stamp which needs closer inspection.

The iWeb icon has a full demo iWeb page, complete with text.

The small calendar numbers on iCal's icon aren't visible from the dock.

Was the detail on the GarageBand icon a waste of time?

Not an Apple creation, but the Firefox globe doesn't stand out at a glance. That requires a closer inspection to notice.

The Dictionary icon's 'Dictionary/Thesarus' text isn't readable in the dock. Does that make it unnecessary?

The numbers in the Calculator icon's display can't be read on my dock... but again, it's Apple.

The Bento icon is an example of Apple-inspired icon design, and all its details certainly aren't visible on the dock.

Perhaps Apple's design principles are changing, but I see no reason for people to detract from the merits of a very strong substitute icon on grounds that it's too busy. The attention to detail fits with traditional Apple icon design, and the overarching theme plays nice with modern Apple design.

As for Apple's new icon... I'm indifferent. It's an icon and I'm free to change it, so I don't get what the hoo-hah is about. The old one was vulgar anyway.
 
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Yea, I don't care for the look of the new icon myself, but so what, I don't think the icon is that important... The lack of ringtone creation however I think is a bad move.

At this point in time, except for the issue of the branding recognition that's now stuck to the iTunes moniker, don't ya think "iMedia" would be a more appropriate name? :cool:
 
Salacion said:
It totally doesn't. Looks great next to Quicktime X. I prefer a darker saturation of blues; it's more pleasing and exciting on the eye. Just get over it.
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I agree with vega07 it looks hideous in my dock compared with the other mac apps that i use like Mail and Safari. And why would I keep a Quicktime X a pointless app to keep in my dock, just to match the new iTunes icon. On another note the icon doesn’t look that bad in Windows 7, but then again what does look good in windows?
 
If Steve thinks the new icon looks good and if he thought the live entertainment after the even sounded good then I can see where the ugly unibody Mac mini came from. I'm glad Apple didn't budget the money to redesign (ruin) the Mac Pro. I really like the same-old look of my 2010 3.2 quad.
 
Who cares? anyone who criticizes a logo on a computer program needs to re-examine what is important in life.
 
farmboy said:
Yes, it does--the little images are invisible. And an experienced designer would understand that you design a logo for the way it will actually be used, not for the way it looks really cool when you've got it at 1000% for Illustrator.
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So Apple has been hiring inexperienced designers for the past few years? Most of their icons pay a great deal of attention to detail –– some of which is lost when the dock is relatively small.
 
davak said:
If you don't like the changes, here is how to change it back.

Change the vertical window control buttons back to horizontal:
http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/7591...mize-and-maximize-buttons-back-to-horizontal/

Change the icon back to the iTunes 9 version:
http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/7502...the-icon-back-to-itunes-9-version-in-windows/

iTunes 9 logo link:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1892/6ix Passions/Files/iTunes.icns
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thanks! Now if I could only get rid of ping from the sidebar ...
 
JediZenMaster said:
I'm digging the new iTunes 10.
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Same here. After using it for a bit, iTunes has never felt more refined and enjoyable. I see nobody has complained about the fact that Apple removed the vertical lines in the list view grid. Or have I missed that discussion somehow?! :)

KnightWRX said:
It's not a question of spelling/grammar, but of meaning. "I could care less" means you care. If you can care less, than means your care meter is not at 0, so you indeed have some form of care about the issue.
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Oy vey - not this again :p


holmesf said:
thanks! Now if I could only get rid of ping from the sidebar ...
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Yes please.
 
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