korrents

Susan Kare

@susan-kare · 19 positions · 0 changes of mind

Graphic designer who created the original Macintosh icons and typefaces at Apple from 1982, and has since designed interface graphics for NeXT, Microsoft, Facebook and Pinterest.

Susan Kare did not write this page.

We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.

  1. Our reading

    Design is about making things meaningful and memorable: get the idea right and the form follows from it.

    Their wordsalways focus on making things meaningful and memorable. And I think the heart of that is have a good idea and then the form will follow.
    spoken · machine transcript hear it at 1:33 · all korrents from this recording

    ↗Susan Kare: Designing Icons & Graphics For the Original Macyoutube.com 1st of 19 in this recording

    design

    Interesting

  3. Our reading

    A computer meant for anyone has to be understandable without a manual, and it has to be friendly.

    Their wordsAnd we wanted it to be as understandable as possible, so you wouldn't necessarily need a manual, and that it should be friendly
    spoken · machine transcript hear it at 7:00 · all korrents from this recording

    ↗Susan Kare: Designing Icons & Graphics For the Original Macyoutube.com 2nd of 19 in this recording

    Interesting

  5. Our reading

    You can be creative within any set of constraints, so long as you understand what they are and get excited about them rather than resent them.

    Their wordsusually I think you can be creative in any constraints. You can make some pretty fun art with beach trash while you're walking around. And this you can be creative, but it's good to understand what the constraints are, and then be excited about that as opposed to being upset that you don't have a thousand colors.
    spoken · machine transcript hear it at 7:31 · all korrents from this recording

    ↗Susan Kare: Designing Icons & Graphics For the Original Macyoutube.com 3rd of 19 in this recording

    Interesting

  7. Our reading

    An interface should say what it means with animation and sound rather than text, because then one version works internationally.

    Their wordsbut we tried not to have any any text so that it could be international without having to make a different version.
    spoken · machine transcript hear it at 12:33 · all korrents from this recording

    ↗Susan Kare: Designing Icons & Graphics For the Original Macyoutube.com 4th of 19 in this recording

    Interesting

  9. Our reading

    A plain drawing of a pencil stands for writing better than a glossy realistic pen, because the more detail an image carries the more particular the thing it depicts.

    Their wordswhich is why I think like a simple drawing of a pencil can stand for writing in some ways better than a chrome pen with a reflection, which is real very fancy, but it's a very particular kind of pen that not everybody might write with.
    spoken · machine transcript hear it at 17:20 · all korrents from this recording

    ↗Susan Kare: Designing Icons & Graphics For the Original Macyoutube.com 5th of 19 in this recording

    Interesting

  11. Our reading

    An icon should carry one or two salient details and nothing else.

    Their wordsSo, I my bias in icons is the a salient detail or two, but don't lard it with a lot of extra stuff.
    spoken · machine transcript hear it at 17:38 · all korrents from this recording

    ↗Susan Kare: Designing Icons & Graphics For the Original Macyoutube.com 6th of 19 in this recording

    Interesting

  13. Our reading

    Detail a symbol could technically carry still costs you, because it distracts from the instant recognition the symbol exists for.

    Their wordsthere's not a technical reason that they couldn't have plaid lunchboxes and shoelaces or be singing a song, but it would probably be more distracting and just take away from that instant recognition that you're aiming for.
    spoken · machine transcript hear it at 18:01 · all korrents from this recording

    ↗Susan Kare: Designing Icons & Graphics For the Original Macyoutube.com 7th of 19 in this recording

    Interesting

  15. Our reading

    An application icon and its document icon should read as a verb and a noun: the tool looks active, and the document resembles the tool.

    Their wordsand I like the idea that since it was a process it looked kind of active and um and then it could be paired with a document that resembled it so our system was kind of a verb and a noun
    spoken · machine transcript hear it at 20:08 · all korrents from this recording

    ↗Susan Kare: Designing Icons & Graphics For the Original Macyoutube.com 8th of 19 in this recording

    Interesting

  17. Our reading

    The way to draw a person everybody can be is to crop one, so the image gives away no gender, no age and no hairstyle.

    Their wordsI tried to crop a person it's not a person with a little square head it's the idea is it's a crop so you don't know the gender or the age or the hair do or really anything about this glimpse of a person.
    spoken · machine transcript hear it at 20:42 · all korrents from this recording

    ↗Susan Kare: Designing Icons & Graphics For the Original Macyoutube.com 9th of 19 in this recording

    Interesting

  19. Our reading

    Drawing the printer as it really looked shortened the icon's life; stopping sooner and drawing something simpler would have made it last.

    Their wordsBut again, too much detail. It would have had a much longer lifespan if I had just stopped and made it simpler.
    spoken · machine transcript hear it at 21:38 · all korrents from this recording

    ↗Susan Kare: Designing Icons & Graphics For the Original Macyoutube.com 10th of 19 in this recording

    Interesting

  21. Our reading

    An icon should never picture a particular product, because the product dates and takes the icon down with it; use a metaphor instead.

    Their wordsSo, in general, I think it's not good in icons to show pictures of a particular product design because like the 3 and 1/2 in floppy for save. Um even though some there's still a few of those kicking around, but obviously it it didn't age well. Better to use a metaphor.
    spoken · machine transcript hear it at 21:51 · all korrents from this recording

    ↗Susan Kare: Designing Icons & Graphics For the Original Macyoutube.com 11th of 19 in this recording

    design

    Interesting

  23. Our reading

    An abstract symbol is harder to remember than one whose metaphor reinforces the concept it stands for.

    Their wordsit was abstract and sometimes abstract things can be harder to remember and then something that has a metaphor that reinforces the concept.
    spoken · machine transcript hear it at 23:56 · all korrents from this recording

    ↗Susan Kare: Designing Icons & Graphics For the Original Macyoutube.com 12th of 19 in this recording

    Interesting

  25. Our reading

    Icon work is not really about the grid of pixels; it is about the metaphor, the idea and the meaning behind everything on the grid.

    Their wordsBut um I think the whole point of that project and the graphics was it isn't really just about a grid of pixels. It's the metaphor and the idea and the meaning behind everything.
    spoken · machine transcript hear it at 27:32 · all korrents from this recording

    ↗Susan Kare: Designing Icons & Graphics For the Original Macyoutube.com 13th of 19 in this recording

    energy

    Interesting

  27. Our reading

    Icon design is not an exact science, and the placeholder a programmer threw together is one of the best sources of ideas.

    Their wordsThe The point just being this is so not an exact science. And I always like to show either what a client asks for or what a programmer might have used as a placeholder because I've gotten so many good ideas that way.
    spoken · machine transcript hear it at 28:39 · all korrents from this recording

    ↗Susan Kare: Designing Icons & Graphics For the Original Macyoutube.com 14th of 19 in this recording

    design

    Interesting

  29. Our reading

    Even a poor sixteen-colour palette earns its keep, because colour is what lets someone tell things apart at a glance.

    Their wordsAnd color, even if 16 colors, and some of them weren't very good colors, but it was still so nice to have to be able to use red for alerts and to differentiate at a glance a little easier when you had color as another option.
    spoken · machine transcript hear it at 29:10 · all korrents from this recording

    ↗Susan Kare: Designing Icons & Graphics For the Original Macyoutube.com 15th of 19 in this recording

    Interesting

  31. Our reading

    When people pay a real dollar for a picture, cute beats expensive: teddy bears and hearts outsell diamond earrings and a Rolex.

    Their wordsBut what I learned was that cute trumped everything. It just um teddy bears, anything heart-shaped, the kiss mark was the best seller of all time.
    spoken · machine transcript hear it at 33:17 · all korrents from this recording

    ↗Susan Kare: Designing Icons & Graphics For the Original Macyoutube.com 16th of 19 in this recording

    Interesting

  33. Our reading

    A contest between five paid firms is not the way to get good creative work.

    Their wordshe thought we should have a contest. Like probably which I would never think is the best way to get good creative
    spoken · machine transcript hear it at 38:34 · all korrents from this recording

    ↗Susan Kare: Designing Icons & Graphics For the Original Macyoutube.com 17th of 19 in this recording

    Interesting

  35. Our reading

    However exactly you think you know what a project needs, allow extra time — nothing takes an hour.

    Their wordsI mean, I know I always think, "I can do this in an hour." When really, nothing takes an hour. And um so many projects I've worked on you optimistically think you know exactly what you want to do, but it's still allow extra time.
    spoken · machine transcript hear it at 41:58 · all korrents from this recording

    ↗Susan Kare: Designing Icons & Graphics For the Original Macyoutube.com 18th of 19 in this recording

    Interesting

  37. Our reading

    Do not recolour a logo or restage it until people know it so well that playing with it reads as play.

    Their wordsand I would probably preach the same thing like don't mess around with the logo and put it in a different color and put it on a crazy background until people know it so well that you can play with it
    spoken · machine transcript hear it at 50:18 · all korrents from this recording

    ↗Susan Kare: Designing Icons & Graphics For the Original Macyoutube.com 19th of 19 in this recording

    Interesting