More > JRiver Media Center 30 for Windows
Skin Icons Discussion
HPBEME:
Replace/update the Clear Playing Now icon.
The current icon is exactly the same as the Playing Now icon (shown for the active track in detail lists) which is confusing. It is also the same icon used for Zones in the left-hand tree. I attached a couple icons that may be good replacement candidates for the Clear Playing Now icon.
UPDATE: the first two icons I downloaded from public/free websites for icons. I decided to create a third icon from scratch to provide yet another option
JimH:
HPBEME, Thanks for the icon!
markf2748:
--- Quote from: HPBEME on August 11, 2022, 06:39:29 pm ---Replace/update the Clear Playing Now icon.
The current icon is exactly the same as the Playing Now icon (shown for the active track in detail lists) which is confusing. It is also the same icon used for Zones in the left-hand tree.
--- End quote ---
I agree, clearly a good idea. In addition to the Clear Playing Now icon, the Add To Playing Now icon also needs updating. Recently Played should be in a logically consistent style as well.
I favor (1) using monoline simplicity (2) including the solid play glyph, and (3) retaining the same dominant green background as the current Playing Now icon, with white line style, all for distinct recognition yet instant association as members of a group. While not my personal case, I advocate designs which to some extent accommodate color vision deficiency and low visual acuity (many icons in the tree are excellent in this regard, but a few could stand improvement).
Attached are thoughts in three different styles based on combining glyphs from Microsoft's Segoe Fluent Icon Font.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/design/style/segoe-fluent-icons-font
FYI: I designed these quickly in Inkscape on Win 11, which includes this font.
Any solution needs to be checked at very small scale for readability.
There may be issues for using these in a commercial product - that would need looking into.
Clear Playing Now 1: F5B0 PlaySolid + EA99 Broom
Clear Playing Now 2: F5B0 PlaySolid + F78A CancelMedium
Add To Playing Now 1: F5B0 PlaySolid + ECC8 AddTo
Recently Played: F5B0 PlaySolid + E823 Recently
etc.
In general, I wish MC would add Segoe Fluent and similar clear modern icons to most of their menus.
MC 29.0.86 Win 10/11 Pro (64-bit)
HPBEME:
I like markf2748's icons better than the ones I proposed.
To emphasize the caveat Mark noted in his post: previewing the proposed icons in a very large format is great, but it's hard to say for sure how discernible they will be when in actual use, given how small the icon is in practice. That needs to be considered/evaluated when picking a replacement.
I think a more important point Mark brings up is perhaps switching to an SVG style icon font. Maybe the SVG format is not compatible with MC, but if it is, it may be worth looking into. I am usually a big fan of color/eye candy in MC skins, but a well-designed mono color icon that is not enclosed within a "bordered button" (which forces the icon to be smaller) can be much more effective. I've included some examples below.
markf2748:
--- Quote from: HPBEME on September 06, 2022, 09:48:08 pm ---I am usually a big fan of color/eye candy in MC skins, but a well-designed mono color icon that is not enclosed within a "bordered button" (which forces the icon to be smaller) can be much more effective. I've included some examples below.
--- End quote ---
I think both solid color plates and mono have a place in MC, depending on context and importance.
But if you use color, then there must be sufficient contrast. Some of MC's icons, especially with gradient color at a very small scale, fail miserably in this respect and have no place in a modern UI. Contrast is often quantified by the Contrast Ratio, which should be at least 2.0 IMO for icons, while >3 is better. The green play icons have CR ~ 2.1; making CR higher while keeping white foreground sacrifices "brightness" so there is a tradeoff. Below I picked some of MC's icon colors and used https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/ to measure CR.
Another small-icon design principle to which I subscribe is simplify, simplify, simplify while maintaining a recognizable meaning. Many of the Segoe Fluent Icon glyphs do a great job of this. They are now my de facto starting point: I only combine them or depart when necessary. For decades, Microsoft has put a ton of effort into developing clear computer fonts. They keep evolving them, so why not take advantage and support working towards a universal symbology (like traffic signs) at the same time? Note however there are limits - for example, in the 21st century I choose not to use the irksome archaeological floppy disc (E74E, E78C, E792) for "Save", though I admit it is challenging to find a device-independent replacement that will not be confused with "Download". :)
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