I'd preface this by saying that I am "one of those anal people" when it comes to interfaces and icons. I have more than once deleted software because I didnt like the icon, happy to re-download it if I ever needed it and save myself the trouble of having to look at it. I have no disillusion that I represent the majority or even a significant portion of computer users.
That said I have been pondering the CD in the iTunes logo for a while, and was always a little confused by the fact that it still lived there. I think that in a lot of ways with the elimination of the CD, the icon tells a much different story. Originally the CD was there because you were using it to rip your CDs, fine. After the iTunes store and purchasing mp3s became more popular, the function and focus of the program changed, but CDs remained strongly associated with listening to music (the same way instruments, records, cassettes, speakers, your ear and many other objects might). The CD acted as a reminder as to what iTunes was replacing. With the new icon, we arent being told iTunes is there to replace or interact with any concept or medium other than music itself(the note being the indication of this).
All that said, I am not overly impressed with the icon when presented alongside the others in my dock. If I understand Apple's design language when it comes to icons, or at least what to me seems to have become popular on the platform - I am unaware if any offcial apple-supplied style guide exists, although I know at least on the iPhone, there are some interface guidelines which are given - items that sit on the dock should, at least to some extent, resemble a realistic object* in (approximately) the same space as the ones beside it(a similar theme exists among the best app icons). They rarely are confined to the limits of a geometric shape unless the actual purpose of such an application is either especially clinical (like time machine, airport utility, voice over, files, and the activity monitor), or when that shape has a direct correlation with the application (dashboard, terminal, midi setup, x11). This rings especially true with the majority of the applications that are produced by Apple. Many of the icons on the platform work both at a glance - recognizable and indicative of their function even when viewed at a distance - and when studied more careful - possessing painstaking detail and subtlety. Finder being the notable exception here, but it's function is also a rather abstract and different concept than most other tools. Those that are generally composed of a single shape almost always break the edge of their container with some embellishment or detail(safari, iChat, iCal) as the music note used to for iTunes. The programs represent a possession, a real thing that the user owns(and in an ecosystem where a lot of the software is paid for, often large sums of money, this added sense of value is welcome). The complexity of the icons and attention to detail (or at least cleverness), allude to craftsmanship.
*by realistic I mean "a physical object, existing in three divisional space consisting of some volume(hence the reflections and shadows)" not something that must necessarily exist in our world.
The new icon breaks this form and represents something much more digital. A simple(and geometrically perfect) shape and symbol with no allusions of representing a real object(besides gloss and a shadow). And while it might subtly imply that "iTunes is music" or "iTunes is without parallel in the real world", it also detracts in some way from the cohesiveness of the platform. An application that aims to serve such a variety of functions is hard to represent with a tangible item (with the exception perhaps of a paper shredder being fed $1 bills). But, by minimizing the design to a simple circle, it immediately places iTunes into a forgettable subset of all icons composed of "something inside a circle". My best guess is that they want to have the same, or similar icon on both OSX and iOS devices, and the complex edges of OSX-style icons are hard to appreciate on a small screen (even w/ pixel densities like those on the iPhone 4). I have always found the icons a charming aspect of using OSX. I hope that this is not part of a new slapped-together interface design trend, but if you look at the all-the-same-color super-simple icons on the new nano (they look like they're from a KIRF if you ask me), it's hard to tell.
And to be honest, I was way more annoyed by the greyed out options on the left menu, wtf is up with that?!!? (thanks to the poster above who provided the link to get the color back!).
Best,
Chris
That said I have been pondering the CD in the iTunes logo for a while, and was always a little confused by the fact that it still lived there. I think that in a lot of ways with the elimination of the CD, the icon tells a much different story. Originally the CD was there because you were using it to rip your CDs, fine. After the iTunes store and purchasing mp3s became more popular, the function and focus of the program changed, but CDs remained strongly associated with listening to music (the same way instruments, records, cassettes, speakers, your ear and many other objects might). The CD acted as a reminder as to what iTunes was replacing. With the new icon, we arent being told iTunes is there to replace or interact with any concept or medium other than music itself(the note being the indication of this).
All that said, I am not overly impressed with the icon when presented alongside the others in my dock. If I understand Apple's design language when it comes to icons, or at least what to me seems to have become popular on the platform - I am unaware if any offcial apple-supplied style guide exists, although I know at least on the iPhone, there are some interface guidelines which are given - items that sit on the dock should, at least to some extent, resemble a realistic object* in (approximately) the same space as the ones beside it(a similar theme exists among the best app icons). They rarely are confined to the limits of a geometric shape unless the actual purpose of such an application is either especially clinical (like time machine, airport utility, voice over, files, and the activity monitor), or when that shape has a direct correlation with the application (dashboard, terminal, midi setup, x11). This rings especially true with the majority of the applications that are produced by Apple. Many of the icons on the platform work both at a glance - recognizable and indicative of their function even when viewed at a distance - and when studied more careful - possessing painstaking detail and subtlety. Finder being the notable exception here, but it's function is also a rather abstract and different concept than most other tools. Those that are generally composed of a single shape almost always break the edge of their container with some embellishment or detail(safari, iChat, iCal) as the music note used to for iTunes. The programs represent a possession, a real thing that the user owns(and in an ecosystem where a lot of the software is paid for, often large sums of money, this added sense of value is welcome). The complexity of the icons and attention to detail (or at least cleverness), allude to craftsmanship.
*by realistic I mean "a physical object, existing in three divisional space consisting of some volume(hence the reflections and shadows)" not something that must necessarily exist in our world.
The new icon breaks this form and represents something much more digital. A simple(and geometrically perfect) shape and symbol with no allusions of representing a real object(besides gloss and a shadow). And while it might subtly imply that "iTunes is music" or "iTunes is without parallel in the real world", it also detracts in some way from the cohesiveness of the platform. An application that aims to serve such a variety of functions is hard to represent with a tangible item (with the exception perhaps of a paper shredder being fed $1 bills). But, by minimizing the design to a simple circle, it immediately places iTunes into a forgettable subset of all icons composed of "something inside a circle". My best guess is that they want to have the same, or similar icon on both OSX and iOS devices, and the complex edges of OSX-style icons are hard to appreciate on a small screen (even w/ pixel densities like those on the iPhone 4). I have always found the icons a charming aspect of using OSX. I hope that this is not part of a new slapped-together interface design trend, but if you look at the all-the-same-color super-simple icons on the new nano (they look like they're from a KIRF if you ask me), it's hard to tell.
And to be honest, I was way more annoyed by the greyed out options on the left menu, wtf is up with that?!!? (thanks to the poster above who provided the link to get the color back!).
Best,
Chris
