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The best icon is a text label

Updated: at 11:20 PM

Before you choose icons for your UI, have a look at real-world cases of what works and what doesn’t

Thomas Byttebier is a freelance web designer creating minimalist and easy to use websites and user interfaces. Thomas lives and works in Gent, Belgium.

He writes: Of course I can see why icons grew popular in user interfaces. Firstly, they make the UI more graphically pleasing. And when done right, they can certainly give your app visual personality. That’s two good things.

Moreover, an icon can often replace a long descriptive group of words. As screens get smaller, this is much welcomed. But herein lies the design trap, because most icons are unclear. They make people think. What good has a beautiful interface if it’s unclear? Hence it’s simple: only use an icon if its message is a 100% clear to everyone. Never give in.

Read more from the source: thomasbyttebier.be