[Fireside Chats are round table discussions conducted using Campfire.]

The Chatters
Dave Brasgalla (Icon Factory)
Brian Brasher (Firewheel Design)
Jon Hicks (Hicks Design)
Corey Marion (Icon Factory)
Michael Schmidt (Cuban Council)
Josh Williams (Firewheel Design)
(Moderated by Matt and Jason from 37signals)

Matt
paste an icon or icon set that you’re proud of making and explain why.
Corey
Preview
Brian
Large_preview
Jon
26
Jon
I guess I had too!
Corey
Didn’t know Hicks did the Firefox and Thunderbird icons, nice work
Jon
It’s kind of my one-hit wonder!
Josh
I did these icons for a Pawn Shop POS system years ago. The thought of Pawn Shop icons has always made me laugh a bit:
Josh
Pfolio_vcs2
Corey
Basic_bitmap_preview
Corey
One of our original three sets when stockicons.com launched
Dave
Preview
Dave
Cave Troll. :-D
Dave
Those LOTR icons, I love the CCave Troll, but the book… I’ve been after texture for so long, and that time I hit exactly what I had in mind

Jon
I love the Cave Troll icons – candidates for the first animated icons me thinks
Dave
Actually, I’ve always wanted to animate the cave troll to "Soul of a Man"
Josh
Did you do that all in PS Dave?
Dave
vector base shapes and millions of PS layers, Josh
Josh
These are still my faves, created during my Dave Brasgalla phase…
Josh
Pfolio_yellowlane_icons
Dave
Always liked the orange-y glow about those, Josh
Josh
thx Dave, I’m a sucker for orange
Michael
Moodstats_icons
Brian
I’ve been posting cursors on my blog. Not icons exactly, but sorta:
Brian
Cursors_smileys_3
Corey
Classic Brian…
Michael
nice & pixelly
Josh
The texture is amazing
Dave
Love the cook pot!
Josh
we keep brian in a cook pot at the office
Brian
But we try not to smoke it.
Matt
What do you think about the new Adobe CS3 icons?
Matt
Adobe_replacement-icons1
Josh
I like the CS3 box art much more than the icons.
Matt
Cs3_large
Dave
The new CS3 icons are sort of bizarre to me
Brian
CS3 icons: yawn
Jon
Agreed
Jon
BUT
Jon
I’ve got used to them
Josh
With so many Adobe apps, they’re gonna run outta letters
Brian
Are we on the cusp of a periodic table design phase?
Josh
Fireworks, Flash, Flex… too many icons with Fs
Corey
They are very…square
Dave
It has so many problems
Brian
The boxes are lovely.
Josh
the boxes are gorgeous
Jon
Agreed
Dave
Very nice boxes
Josh
Wish the icons had the same level of character, and I’m really starting to miss Venus from the old Adobe icons.
Brian
Lovely, yet across the room I don’t which app is in which box.
Michael
Once you get used them to, the cs3 icons are easier to use in the dock, though.
Josh
you’re right about that Mike, the current CS2 icons aren’t terrific either
Corey
The icons do stand out in the dock
Dave
Just putting letters in a square seems a design cop-out to me
Jon
It does, but I have to say, I think it works
Jon
after I got over the shock
“Just putting letters in a square seems a design cop-out to me.”
Corey
I agree, they are easier to "learn" than the CS1 and CS2 icons
Brian
Abstract expressionists enter the icon design field.
Dave
Well, as long as i don’t have to use more than two Adobe apps, it’ll be fine!
Josh
Adobe_illustrator7
Josh
I liked these days
Jon
memories…
Brian
CS2: Adobe Feathershop
Jason
Is something a design cop-out if it works?
Jason
Don’t people prefer things that work over things that just look good? Unless we’re talking about art or something.
Jason
FWIW: I like the new icons. I think they are functional in a way most icons are not. In that they are designed to live along side other icons that may or may not match. I think that’s pretty unique in icon world. A lot of icons seem to be designed to live in a controlled set, not along side a set you can’t control.
Jason
They also seem to deal with context well.
Dave
Well, I am talking about iconography
Dave
Be interesting to see the Arabic localisation
Josh
Jason: no, if it works, it’s not a cop out
Josh
he he
Matt
Related: What makes an icon a success or a failure?
Josh
Ask Hicks…the Firefox icon has certainly been a success
Jon
Failure: People don’t talk about it?
Jon
At least the CS3 icons are noticed
Jon
and discussed
Michael
Do people talk about icons?
Dave
Hmmm.. people talk about terrible icons, too.
Josh
good point
Brian
Noticed does not equal good. Think MySpace. Yuck!
Dave
I suppose it depends on the purpose of the icon. I know that sounds a bit banal, but I think it’s true.
Michael
Failure: you have no idea what it is you’re clicking on in the dock.
Jon
my personal fave:
Transmit3-header-anim
Brian
It’s all a matter of whether or not you want to divorce it from aesthetics.
Josh
Honestly, I do think icon design can be a bit overrated / overemphasized
“Honestly, I do think icon design can be a bit overrated / overemphasized.”
Matt
Meaning what, icons don’t really matter that much?
Dave
Things have definitely become… shall we say… rococco?
Jon
:o
Jason
Josh: It’s good to hear you say that.
Jason
I sort of feel the same way about logos.
Jason
Lots and lots of time and money are spent — or wasted — on them.
Josh
There’s only so much icons are going to do for your product. If your product is good (i.e., Firefox), then a good icon will be remembered with it.
Brian
Very true.
Josh
If your product is crap, than a pretty fox on a globe ain’t gonna help it
Josh
Same with general UI, especially on the web
Josh
Jason: we had the same discussion about logos here yesterday
Josh
Logos are totally overrated.
Jon
Conversely – with resolution independence, icons take longer to make, but I find the budgets don’t increase
Dave
That’s a very salient point.
Jon
so maybe we should do away with icons and logos!
Josh
(It pains me to say this)
Josh
I think we should.
Brian
Well, somebody has to clothe the emperor.
Jason
Re: logos and icons… I feel like good ones mean the company is paying attention at least. That’s what they mean to me.
Dave
I agree, Jason
Matt
logos and icons seem like the icing. def matter but if the cake sucks they ain’t gonna help much.
Josh
Sometimes a good logo or icon is an indicator that they’re taking care of business in other places.
Michael
True, but sometimes it also seems like the only people who care about these things are designers like us
Michael
Which is a bit sad
Jason
But spending tens of thousands or more on a logo and "identity package"... I just don’t get it. But anyway, that’s just me. Maybe it makes sense for some of the world’s largest companies, but I see startups blowing wads of cash on stuff like that and I just don’t get it.
Jason
They have business cards before they have products. Wrong priorities.
Jon
I think we should separate icons and logos here
Dave
Take OS X: if I see an app with a very nicely executed icon, and the screenshots of the interface seem attractive, I am likely to try it out.
Jason
Dave: I agree.
Brian
Dave said what I wanted to say (and better than I would have).
Jason
Just like I’m more likely to walk into a clean store than one with shit scattered everywhere.
Jon
Icons are ‘the icing’, but logos mean far more to a company
Dave
As Josh put it, it shows they are taking care in each step
Josh
It’s very true. I don’t want a crappy icon messing up my Dock.
Jason
It’s just a matter of presenting yourself well
Corey
Corporate ID is definitely out of control
Corey
and this filters down to icon and UI design
Dave
People can "overthink" the icons (and logo)... reach a point where they are chasing thier own tails.
Dave
Frank Herbert once wrote:
Dave
One of the most difficult things to find is someone who is actually willing to make a decision
“One of the most difficult things to find is someone who is actually willing to make a decision.”
Corey
Marketing departments…
Corey
design by committee…
Josh
Dave: you’ve hit it on the head
Jon
Too right!
Michael
That seems applicable to any sort of design project, though
Corey
absolutely
Matt
too many cooks in the kitchen
Corey
we do it with our own projects
Brian
I’d rather be working on an icon set designed by committee than a 30-page printed something!
Dave
<- shudders at the mention of print work

Continued in Part 2 and Part 3.