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Writers' Talk With Corey Marion of the Iconfactory OReillyMac: If I'm a developer ready to market a new OS X app ... and it's time to design my icons ... do I follow the strict Apple standards as they exist now ... do I contact a consultant such as Iconfactory, or do I punt? alanosx: Go for the conversion. iconfactorycorey: You should absolutely contact the Iconfactory, no question about it :-) alanosx: Or read my columns on the OReilly network. OReillyMac: (two shameless plugs in one question!) iconfactorycorey: We can help decipher the AHIG and try our best to apply them to your icon design alanosx: I think budget is one issue... alanosx: if you can't afford to hire an outside firm...and many small developers are in this boat... alanosx: and it can be difficult deciphering the guidelines... alanosx: I've seen some terrible icons. alanosx: But if you can afford to hire a firm...I highly recommend it. alanosx: I hate software companies with budgets who opt for the cheap road... iconfactorycorey: I don't think you can afford not to hire someone iconfactorycorey: especially if you have no designers on staff alanosx: expensive software with bad icons looks cheap. iconfactorycorey: the least we can do is take your artwork, make suggestions and create the resources for your developer alanosx: it is important for people to understand that icons aren't just on the desktop... alanosx: remember that icons pertains to tool bars and palettes as well... alanosx: people will judge the app on the design. OReillyMac: How early in the process should you be thinking about this? iconfactorycorey: As soon as you know the kind of app you are building OReillyMac: So this is a parallel process to the actual code development? iconfactorycorey: It should be, but it usually isn't iconfactorycorey: Your finder icon is the first thing a user sees OReillyMac: What's the biggest mistake you see developers make? iconfactorycorey: Starting too late in the process so there is not time to develop icons iconfactorycorey: And obviously not hiring designers to do the UI design alanosx: You know the remark that stuck with me from WWDC... alanosx: is when an engineer got up and said: alanosx: "Designing icons for OS X was the hardest part of the development." alanosx: Designers of the world unite! iconfactorycorey: We try to make it easier by offloading that burden iconfactorycorey: for a small fee of course ;-) OReillyMac: So let's look into our crystal ball for a moment ... and wrap up with a look at the direction that design is heading OReillyMac: What changes do you see for iconfactory as a result of Mac OS X? iconfactorycorey: A lot of jobs creating fewer icons that take more time alanosx: Where is this heading...can you guess...meaning... alanosx: with the attention to detail...any ideas as to the future of the OS and Hardware? iconfactorycorey: a lot more time in Freehand OReillyMac: :-) alanosx: It seems Apple is building a lot of room for growth here...and it all points to media. iconfactorycorey: Now that the software looks as flashy and as slick as Apple's hardware iconfactorycorey: I think they will add more user customizable features ... if not, developers will alanosx: II think I see hints towards animated icons as well. They'll really need your services then!!! iconfactorycorey: They did refer quite frequently to animated icons at WWDC iconfactorycorey: but in am informational context, like Mail.app iconfactorycorey: showing you how many messages are waiting alanosx: Developer heed this warning...out-source! alanosx: Sometimes... it is hard to know all that your app can and will do...until you know what it looks like. iconfactorycorey: l'm just thinking about IconBuilder alanosx: Oh yeah...I tried that out. iconfactorycorey: What did you think? alanosx: I really liked it... alanosx: It is a really helpful tool... alanosx: especially for me when it comes to the final compositing of the icon... alanosx: I do all my graphics work in 9... alanosx: why go to X to test it out? iconfactorycorey: We can help your app be a "good citizen" in OS X starting with the icon alanosx: Prefer to use Photoshop anyway...and it works as a plug in. alanosx: Great preview tools as well. iconfactorycorey: It started an internal tool to make it easier for us alanosx: It brings the best of Icon Browser...and Composer together in many respects. iconfactorycorey: gradually got to the commercial quality level and is very popular with designers alanosx: And it works for Windows icons too! iconfactorycorey: you are in Photoshop anyway, why drop out to another editor? alanosx: Exactly. iconfactorycorey: new version coming soon with XP support and a few other new features iconfactorycorey: no need to deal with masks, IconBuilder does it for you OReillyMac: OK guys ... OReillyMac: this has been terrific alanosx: Thanks for stopping by Corey. iconfactorycorey: Thanks for inviting me! OReillyMac: Alright. It's a wrap! Derrick Story is the managing editor of the O'Reilly Network. Read more from Writers' Talk. Return to the Mac DevCenter.
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Let's talk about icons. This is such a big part of Mac OS X, yet a real challenge for most of us. What are your thoughts?