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

[kaigou]

Yah, yah, the logic's there once you think about it. Though personally, I got more used to the bell once I got used to also seeing it in the Mac system -- part of that "when you see it in similar use on a daily basis, you connect the concept" which is what makes icons so easy, and yet so hard.

[afuna]

Yes! Like the shield icon above!

*ducks*

[kaigou]

So you're saying when I see it I should be thinking "omfg, dw intercepted a sudden attack of the melissa virus!" ?? oh, well, I feel so much safer now! /snark

hehe.

(no, seriously, what was wrong with just using a variation on the 'lock' image? a 'filter' is really just a subset of the locked-post/friends-only concept. honestly, if I were assigning icons, I'd argue more for a shield being related to the age-designation on posts, in the sense of "shielded from too-young eyeballs" or some such. although come to think of it, some kids are kinda like viruses...)

[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!)

[afuna]

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

[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.

[willow]

+1

[archangelbeth]

Lock + Tag looks good to me, too.