Icon localization

[Christian Rose <menthos menthos com>]

fre 2002-01-18 klockan 15.44 skrev Tuomas Kuosmanen:
>     I suppose that we should modify the applications to be able to use a
>     icon depending on our locale...
> 
> Please don't.
> 
> For once, I havent seen this on any other program.

This is pretty pretty standard. All localized Office suites that I know
of does it. It simply does not make sense to use one terminology in the
written parts of the (localized) interface and another, completely
unrelated one in the icons, one that the user does not have to be
familiar with or make the connection with.


> Also, B, I, U are
> rather clear since there is also the visual cue. It could be a lot
> harder, especially if a some language happens to map the stuff the other
> way around (word for "underline" would begin with "b" for example) - it
> would be very confusing.

Confusing for whom? Those who switch between localized versions, or
those who always use the same? In my opinion, the later group is more
important, and the former has always the possibility to recognize the
icon by it's style and placement anyway.


> I am worried this could lead to just over-engineering and it probably is
> not worth the effort. If something, we could use A, A, A then.
> (Depending on your mailer program, you might not see the example, but
> the idea was to use a bolded A, italic A and underlined A)

Good idea. However, this does not solve the problem of sort order icons.


> Same for sort icons. I have seen requests about this, which is sort of
> understandable, since for example finnish does not have Z as the last
> letter of the alphabet. But if we used the finnish localized version of
> the sort icon, it would have an arrow from A to Å. I think you see the
> point. A->Z is universally recognized as "beginning to end" although it
> is not exactly true on all languages. But the direction is right.

I'm afraid people don't make the connection. The Swedish alphabet is A
to Ö, and the terminology that is used in everyday language is "sorting
A to Ö". Given that situation, A-Z is a strange and unfamiliar concept.


> Now a localized icon could be more literally correct but would totally
> hurt the usability by being less readable.

Doesn't have to be. Kenneth Christiansen has made some localized sort
order icons for Danish that use A-Å and a big arrow:

http://www.sslug.dk/locale/kenneth/stocks/images/sort-descending-da.gif
http://www.sslug.dk/locale/kenneth/stocks/images/sort-ascending-da.gif

I don't find them harder to read than the English originals:

http://www.sslug.dk/locale/kenneth/stocks/images/sort-ascending.gif
http://www.sslug.dk/locale/kenneth/stocks/images/sort-descending.gif


> Also, would be rather bad to have different icons depending what
> locale you happen to be using.

Usually I'm against to over-localize applications (by for example
translating keyboard shortcuts), but the letters in the sort order icons
are important to be able to understand what the button does. Thus users
have to be familiar with the metaphors used in the icon.


> Just my worries.. :-) The idea of usability is to have easy to use
> applications, not linguistically correct ones ;-)

One of the ideas behind usability is to use concepts and metaphors that
the user is familiar with.


Just my opinion,


Christian