Editing Icon (computing) (section)

== Overview ==

The computing definition of "icon" can include three distinct [[Semiotics|semiotical]] elements: 
[[Pictogram|Icon]], which resembles its referent (such as a road sign for falling rocks).
This category includes [[Stylization|stylized]] drawings of objects from the office environment or from other professional areas such as printers, scissors, file cabinets and folders.

[[Index (disambiguation)#Computer science|Index]], which is associated with its referent (smoke is a sign of fire).
This category includes [[Stylization|stylized]] drawings used to refer to actions "[[printer (computing)|printer]]" and "print", "[[scissors]]" and "[[Cutting|cut]]" or "[[magnifying glass]]" and "search".

[[Symbol]], which is related to its referent only by convention (letters, musical notation, mathematical operators etc.).

This category includes standardized symbols found across many [[electronic device]]s, such as the [[power symbol|power on/off symbol]] and the USB icon. 

The majority of icons are encoded and decoded using [[metonymy]], [[synecdoche]], and [[metaphor]].
[[File:Media-floppy.svg|thumb|upright|The {{frac|3|1|2}}-inch [[floppy disk]] was ubiquitous for data storage in the late 20th century, and still continues to be used to represent the save function. This is an example of a [[skeuomorph]].]]

An example of [[metaphorical]] representation characterizes all the major desktop-based computer systems including the [[Icon (computing)#Desktop metaphor icons|desktop]] that uses an iconic representation of objects from the 1980s office environment to transpose attributes from a familiar context/object to an unfamiliar one. This is known as [[skeuomorphism]], and an example is the use of the [[floppy disk]] to represent saving data; even though floppy disks have been obsolete for roughly a quarter century, it is still recognized as "the save icon".

[[Metonymy]] is in itself a subset of metaphors that use one entity to point to another related to it such as using a [[fluorescent bulb]] instead of a filament one to represent power saving settings.

[[Synecdoche]] is considered as a special case of metonymy, in the usual sense of the part standing for the whole such as a single component for the entire system, [[speaker driver]] for the entire [[audio system]] settings.

Additionally, a group of icons can be categorised as brand icons, used to identify commercial [[software program]]s and are related to the [[brand identity]] of a company or software. These commercial icons serve as functional links on the system to the program or data files created by a specific software provider. Although icons are usually depicted in [[graphical user interface]]s, icons are sometimes rendered in a [[Text-based user interface|TUI]] using special characters such as [[MouseText]] or [[PETSCII]].

The design of all computer icons is constricted by the limitations of the device display. They are limited in size, with the standard size of about a [[thumbnail]] for both [[desktop computer]] systems and mobile devices. They are frequently scalable, as they are displayed in different positions in the software, a single icon file such as the [[Apple Icon Image format]] can include multiple versions of the same icon optimized to work at a different size, in colour or grayscale as well as on dark and bright backgrounds.

The colors used, for both the image and the icon background, should stand out on different system backgrounds and among each other. The detailing of the icon image needs to be simple, remaining recognizable in varying graphical resolutions and screen sizes. Computer icons are by definition language-independent but often not culturally independent; they do not rely on letters or words to convey their meaning. These visual parameters place rigid limits on the design of icons, frequently requiring the skills of a [[graphic artist]] in their development.

Because of their condensed size and versatility, computer icons have become a mainstay of user interaction with electronic media. Icons also provide rapid entry into the system functionality. On most systems, users can create and delete, replicate, [[selection (user interface)|select]], click or double-click standard computer icons and [[drag and drop|drag]] them to new positions on the screen to create a customized user environment.<ref name="ICT Pictograms, Icons and Symbols ">{{cite web|url=http://www.tiresias.org/research/guidelines/pictograms.htm|title=''ICT Pictograms, Icons and Symbols'', 10 May 2011|access-date=1 June 2011|archive-date=1 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130801075835/http://www.tiresias.org/research/guidelines/pictograms.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>