Hey everyone,
While investigating XWIKI-21914, related to the inconsistency of the “X” icon, I encountered a much bigger inconsistency problem. Basically we have a lot of different icons being used for the same actions OR different actions using the same icon.
Take the example below, it’s a collage of different screens and sections within XS. Each marked color is a concept or icon with some sort of inconsistency.
Researching other applications, a lot of them limit the use of icons, especially in context menus. See below for examples.
In my opinion, we could follow suit. We would have a cleaner interface and less ambiguity of actions (greater consistency). But, some users might be attached to the current icons, leading to complaints should we remove them.
We could also retain the use of icons, however it can be difficult to find alternatives on different icon packages (FontAwesome, Glyph, etc) as we need to follow the iconTheme.
Delete x remove
Now, speaking exclusively about the actions for remove and delete, I would like to propose:
“X” icon: Standardize as a ‘remove’ action. As in, being removed from view or association, but without deleting or sending to trash. Examples: remove tags, close dialog (remove from view), cancelling (as removing the intention of action)
Trash icon : Standardize as deletion only or moving to the trash (potentital for deletion)
So, without going too much into more details, I would like to know from you.
What’s your opinion on this problem?
How do you feel about clearing a lot of icons from the interface?
Would you suggest something else?
As always, thank you for reading!