The Usability of Icons

Google tends to use icons sparingly. Here are five instances on the sidebar of Gmail, though there are only four distinct icons. The icon with the two small boxes (one with an arrow inside) is used twice.

Here’s the list again with the meaning of each icon spelled out:

[New window] New Window
[Print] Print
[New window] Create a document
[Expand all] Expand all
[Forward all] Forward all

The icons are merely repeating what the text is saying, except in the case of “Create a document.” That icon is adding value by letting us know how the document is going to be created.

The print icon works because it’s pretty much a standard and instantly recognizable. But the icon next to “New Window” is superfluous, except as a primer of what the icon means. The “Expand all” and “Forward” icons are too similar and vague to be helpful. Without the text, they are just tiny boxes with arrows in them.

Icons are pretty and colorful and fill up space. It’s easy to forget that even well-designed icons usually have a learning curve. I’ve certainly seen enough icons that serve no function, add no meaning or, worse, decrease usability.

These icons can be found on the left side of an email thread in Gmail.