[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
Is the movement towards increasingly three-dimensional/photo-realistic iconography of any demonstrable benefit in terms of usability?
Matt
the rest of the question (from an SvN reader): "It appears to be largely motivated by marketing and branding/identity (which obviously has it’s own value). The constrains on Kare when she designed the original Mac icons forced her to abstract and simplify, much further than designers have to now. Was it this process that resulted in such effective icons?"
Dave
In theory, yes
Corey
This same question came up when OSX was released
Brian
Yes, the technological limitations placed on Kare are what caused her to tap into genius.
“The technological limitations placed on Kare are what caused her to tap into genius.”
Jon
@Matt: I’d agree
Michael
And that question could also be applied to pretty much every web 2.0 site out there
Dave
There are examples in Aqua of how the icon can be realistic, and beautiful and simple and functional, all at once.
Josh
Personally, while the 3D stuff is usable, it’s not very practical in a rich application
Jon
the more complex icons get, the longer we have to spend doing them
Josh
I think a lot of it is about branding and pizazz, but it loses its use
Corey
Still needs to be well executed, no matter how complex
Dave
I prefer simple things.
Dave
UI’s are getting pretty dandy-fied these days.
Corey
And they must degrade well as they get smaller
Brian
Look at any of Dave’s OS 8-ish three-quarter portrait icons for more examples of genius. And the work of Mozco-Garash, wherever he’s gone.
Jon
I remember looking at Adobe tool palettes when I moved over to OS X – I hated that they weren’t just black and white pixel icons – all that fussy shadowing
Matt
Do you think there’s too much "icon overload" going on at sites these days?
Josh
I think there’s a movement towards using icons as badges (decoration) as opposed to functionality in a lot of social sites these days. It might be a bit overload.
Dave
I have to say these are one of my favorites of all that I have done:
Dave
Preview
Jon
Genius!
Jason
Man those faces are amazing
Dave
Labour of love .-D
Josh
http://www.yelp.com uses badges a lot
Corey
all the icons for social bookmarking sites are out of control, but this mostly happens on personal blogs
Josh
Matt: I think Facebook is a good example of a site that uses icons correctly. It’s hard to find a site with more social complexity, thus they primarily rely on text links for actions.
Josh
Then Facebook uses icons for indicators instead—which I think is a nice touch.
Dave
There’s still a lot of kitchen sink going on, even with "web 2.0"
Michael
Medals
Jon
Social bookmarking icons is a good example of ‘too far’
Dave
From websites to OS’s, there’s a lot of "noise and light"
“From websites to OS’s, there’s a lot of ‘noise and light.’”
Brian
Pretty medals.
Josh
Picture+1-1061
Michael
I like the crispness of the facebook icons
Michael
But some of them are impossible to figure out
Dave
It’s back to pixel-click
Josh
The icons are subtle, useful, and yet still somehow fun.
Corey
good, except for the hideous ad
Brian
But that ad … Ouch!
Josh
The ad can definitely die.
Corey
ads should be all text :-)
Matt
What do you guys look for in icons that "normal" people don’t see?
Corey
consistency
Josh
Matt: Attention to detail. The very subtle things, like 1 pixel highlights and shadows.
Brian
I suppose I want them to look pleasing enough that no one is displeased.
Dave
When i was working at a magazine, my mentor always said "make sure your editorial is always discernable from your advertising"
Michael
Josh W nailed it
Michael
That’s also why stockicons.com are the best thing since sliced bread
Jon
A lot of the time, I look for fun – but I guess thats what ‘normal’ people see too…
Michael
(or high-quality stock icon sites in general)
Jon
Clarity
Josh
I think there’s a lot to be said for designers who can work at a pixel level, like Eboy:
Josh
Eby_foobar_35t
Brian
I’m less about "fun" and more about "comfortable fit".
Corey
I think we all started there
Dave
I just know when i see it.
Corey
I still relish a good 16×16 toolbar icon project
Matt
Q: What’s the most you’ve ever charged for an icon project? You don’t need to name the client.
Brian
I think Josh charged ONE MEEEEEELION DOLLARS!
Josh
We have a semi-ongoing project that broke $100k a while back. Don’t know where that is today.
Josh
*points pinky to teeth
Dave
Some corporations are willing to throw LOT of money at icons
Brian
Let ‘em throw!
Dave
Which goes back to what we were talking about at the start
Matt
what side projects are you guys working on?
Josh
Well, our ongoing side project is IconBuffet: http://www.iconbuffet.com
Josh
It’s morphed into this freaky social-type-network for designers and creative types
Dave
Well, i really enjoyed making the music and sound effects for Frenzic
Dave
I got to channel my inner Kraftwerk member
Jon
A website for the Camino project, for the release of 1.5
Corey
all of our software and http://www.stockicons.com
Michael
Beetle Farm (our merch label), Moodstats 2.0 and a new version of K10k – the usual stuff, really
Dave
I am remixing the old Man From UNCLE soundtracks
Corey
Frenzic has been fun and challenging
Corey
Jon
I love Frenzic, but have trouble with some of the colours
Brian
I’m trying to write a book, and it’s taking forever.
Josh
Of course, we also do Blinksale, for all your invoicing needs: http://www.blinksale.com
Josh
But it’s kinda not a side project anymore.
Dave
I will buy any book Brian writes.
Matt
what’s the book brian? about icon design?
Brian
No, it will detail why all my submissions to Threadless fail.
Josh
Brian also does the color palettes for our Colorburn widget:
Josh
Michael
Josh: Blinksale is super nice, btw.
Brian
Josh
a wrap-up question: How much has Nintendo influenced icon design?
Brian
What’s a Nintendo?
Michael
80s video games are the main reason we got into pixel art in the first place
“80s video games are the main reason we got into pixel art in the first place.”
Michael
Never had a nintendo, though
Dave
I’ve never had one.
Dave
I was too busy playing Descent .-D
Josh
Dave: Descent rocked. And Myth II.
Brian
Atari forever, baby!
Josh
I think I love the Nintendo DS so much because its a perfect medium for the rebirth of pixel art.
Dave
Mobile Phones are an interesting area for icons
Dave
But maybe not for long.
Brian
Yeah, for a lot of really crappy icons!
Dave
It’s like one of the last refuges of pixel-click
Josh
Until June, when the iPhone arrives.
Dave
But with the new phones coming out, we’re heading right back to Aqua land
Brian
40-minute battery life. "Oops!"- Steve Jobs
Dave
The more things change…
Corey
It will be like 2000 again, when Steve dropped Aqua on us
Brian
... the more iStuff Apple creates.
Dave
I’d just like to thank you lot for all the amazing icons you’ve done.
Matt
and i’d like to thank you all for participating here today.
Josh
Brian’s blog, worth a serious look

Part 1 and Part 2.