Thanks to twitter and @AdamWooten I came across this article discussing the localization of icons.
So many stories exist about this; the stories of the Apple trash can icon that European users confused for a mailbox, and the mailbox with a red flag that confounded international users.
What in the heck is it?
That last example made me think…how many users in the US have actually USED that style of mailbox? Disregarding of course that the analogy they used was incorrect. A UP flag means that there is OUTGOING mail, not incoming. As the population ages, I think about all the symbols, like the “mailbox” that no longer actually represent a physical object, but rather an communal idea. A picture of a mailbox is not a mailbox. It’s e-mail. or even more divorced than that, it’s a message (of some kind) that is SO far from what a “mailbox” actually is, the jump is almost un-thinkable.
The envelope icon is a little better. People still use and receive mail in envelopes with triangular flaps. But I wonder how long it is until users no longer know what that little symbol is a reference too?
"Shuffle" You try explaining that to someone who has never heard the term before.
The non-representational icons are even more fascinating, if you think about it. “Play” “Pause” “Stop” all very vague concepts, rather than physical objects, clearly communicated by one small shape. Even the now ubiquitous ”Shuffle” icon. Talk about a vague concept. Try explaining it out loud. See? Clearly communicated with that little shape. Everyone knows what it means. When did that happen? And how?
I think concept icons become part of the lexicon in a similar manner to the way in which Kleenex, a trademarked product, became kleenex, replacing tissue, short for facial tissue…
In the case of kleenex, the ubiquitous brand leader just needed familiarity over time to loose the capital K. In the case of icons, either initially we read the manual or are told the function of the button on which the icon is printed and our oft-repeated use makes it seem natural.
As for your shuffle icon, I had no idea what it meant until I read the text, as I don’t use that function of devices I own that may have it…but having been told, it’s clear enough to remember.
Others are not… symbols used for Off and On for devices that have only those states either are not uniform or are unclear or I have not been paying much attention.