icons used in transmogrified

[kaigou]

Title:
icons used in transmogrified

Area:
icons, usability

Summary:
The icon used for "filtered post" in transmog style is identical to the icon traditionally used to indicate "protected from viruses": a shield.

Description:
Could we possibly get that "filtered" icon* changed to something more intuitive? Or at least to something less misleading?

I know the notion of "filter" is a hard one to create an intuitive icon for, but honestly, the one being used doesn't make me think "filter"; it's too much like the MacAfee and DiskWarrior styled shield icon/badges. Every time I see a post with that on it, my first reaction is, "how the hell did a virus get into my post?" as though the icon is trying to alert me that my post has been cleaned. I see the icon nearly daily, yet it's still losing its uphill battle against nearly a decade of "shield = VIRUS!!" reinforcement. 

ETA: icon in question is

Other applications using a variation on the shield-shape: Norton Antivirus, Windows Network Security, eScan Virus Check, Windows Anti-Virus Software, Hotspot Shield, Symantec Antivirus, A-Squared Anti-Malware, Spy Sweeper, Windows Updater (tray icon), Ewido Anti-Spyware, AVG Anti-Spyware, Anti-Malware 2009, Sophos Anti-Virus, USB Disk Security, Orbasoft ApS [...and more but I got tired of typing.]

UPDATE 8/21: proposed icon on the boards (see comments) is by Turlough, using two silk icons together:

From a usability perspective, "filter" is one of the hardest concepts to iconify, because it's not a concrete thing. (I've even seen "flour sifter" used as "filter"-icon, and how many people still know what that is?) The difficulty is perfectly illustrated by the fact that DW's "filter" icon isn't even "filter"-like, but instead is trying to riff off the idea of "shielded".

In a new application, we can and do learn new icon-meanings, which may complicate the learning curve but afterwards we're savvy. In this case, though, DW is trying to pre-empt an icon that has a well-established meaning. That makes for some major cognitive dissonance. I'd say I'm pretty savvy usually, but I keep stumbling when I check the settings after posting. If it's late, or my eyes are tired, a few times I've even automatically clicked on the little shield, nervously expecting a message to pop up from DW about how I just got stopped from sending the I-love-you-virus to everyone on my flist. Or something equally horrendous.

Either come up with an icon that does relate to the concept of "filter" (good luck, because it is hard) OR shift the semantics to a word that can be illustrated more easily (much as 'shielded' -> 'protected' does) and transition in a new/unfamiliar icon to go with it.

* I have no idea whether the icon is consistent in all styles; I'm only familiar with transmog to any degree.

Poll #1056 icons used in transmogrified

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 50

View Respondents

This suggestion:

View Answers

Should be implemented as-is.
19 (38.0%)

Should be implemented with changes. (please comment)
12 (24.0%)

Shouldn't be implemented.
10 (20.0%)

(I have no opinion)
9 (18.0%)

(Other: please comment)
0 (0.0%)

Comments

[cesy]

They used to have them in MS Excel.

[azurelunatic]

Now I'm seeing the current locked symbol being put into a funnel.

[azurelunatic]

I also associate shields with virus protection. Critical software updates, too.

Before LJ had their current cunning little double-lock (I love that thing; it's something I'd consider commissioning and wearing, even though I don't use the feature very much) or tags, I wanted to have a strong symbolic association for a filtered entry, so I borrowed from the UML class diagram visibility symbol for "protected" and have been marking filtered entries (or unfiltered in some cases where it's content that looks like it might deserve a filter) with the subject line including "# = [filter description]". Thus, an entry locked to my Support/volunteer-affiliated friends might have the subject "Another day, another person who has mistaken tech support for the contact-a-reporter department! ( # = spr0t )"

[kaigou]

Hah, there's a combination.

Funnel's still in use by OpenOffice, though when it's less than maybe 20x20, it gets rather obscure.

[azurelunatic]

I think (but can't swear to it) that "protected" is used to clump plain-locked and locked to a group, as opposed to public and private, because things that are neither public nor private sometimes have their own class of shared issues.

[kaigou]

Which we do have, of a sort, with posts being labeled what filters are in use for a post -- something I think is awesome, being someone with about eight or nine filters at any given time, and the tendency to overlap them when it suits me. That whole labeling thing is definitely nifty. Plus easier on the eyeballs if you need/prefer a larger font -- since the icons don't resize.

[yvi]

Oh yes, I think it's used in the code, maybe? Or in site documentation? At the very least, I think of it as 'protected' and thus never had a problem with the shield.

[ldybastet]

That's a shield? And here I've been seeing that symbol as a Kamen Rider head the whole time. ;) Ooops.

I guess I sort of like LJs double lock symbol for the custom filter. But it's hard to think of something that makes you think "filter" instantly. Maybe "group" would be an easier image to go for? It *is* a group of people we lock the post to after all.

[kaigou]

(Since I'm still awake...)

Group icons I've got on hand (all CCL, IIRC). From the mundane to the "hey, at least it would stand out as so totally WTF you'll never again associate it with anything BUT filtered posts!"

[zooey_glass]

I see the shield and think 'protected', which fits the idea that the post is seen only by a certain group, for me.

[queenbarwench]

Funnel is the first thing that I thought of, too. And I would agree that the shield implies virus or security too strongly.

[turlough]

I don't have an opinion on this because I use my own selection of icons from the Silk set. There isn't really one that really fits the concept of filtered entries in this set though so I ended up making a custom made one that looked pretty much like LJ's filter icon:

[afuna]

I think it was a matter of needing to make the image, and possibly having difficulty fitting that much information into such a small space, or difficulty in creating the image from scratch.

But if we have a reasonable alternative, which is more automatically intuitive, I personally do not think there will be much of a problem replacing it (denise and mark have final say, of course!)

[kaigou]

oh, but it's a nice mix, because it's saying it's a tagged kind of locked, which does work for what a filter does (instead of illustrating filter, that is). That definitely works for me!

Regardless of what DW chooses to do, would you mind if I used your icon-adaptation, myself?

[kaigou]

Look down at the bottom of the page for turlough's silk-icon adaptation. It's a lock+a tag, sort of like LJ's double-locks but (I think) even more intuitive than the double lock, because it's saying it's a tagged-locked post, which if you think about it, very much fits what filters are: they do get their own tags in the post info, after all.

So if we were voting for icons, that one would get my vote, plus it's using the same icon set as its basis, so visually it's also seamless.

[afuna]

Huh, that's a particularly gorgeous sort of brilliant. I like it!

[turlough]

Thank you! I kind of like the one LJ uses (if it wasn't so ugly-looking :-) and this was the best combination I could come up with. Also, of course you can use it. I only combined two pre-existing icons after all so go ahead!

[kate_nepveu]

Oh I like that a _lot_.

*votes*

[turlough]

Thank you! I kind of like it a lot myself :-)

[triadruid]

Right, I don't use DW enough to know what 'shield' he was talking about. I was asking what it compares to on LJ, which someone answered farther down the page.

[triadruid]

I like that tagged padlock quite a bit - it's similar to LJ's without being repetitive of theirs. And I agree with whoever said the bell is a bit...wtf...

[musyc]

I like this one. The shield says virus to me, too.

[kaigou]

I edited post to include, because your icon-idea seems to be a winner, so far.

...I wonder if I should ask to close this suggestion & redo the suggestion with your icon as a specific replacement..?

[zvi]

I am changing my vote to be in favor of turlough's proposed icon.

[willow]

I guess it's a sign I don't use DW nearly enough. Because to this day I still thought the bell was for reporting inappropriate comments/spam - since it makes me think of an alarm.