The Guardian has posted an interview with Susan Kare, designer of the original desktop icons for Apple and Microsoft. “Steve Jobs had an amazing ability to focus on and contribute to almost every aspect of the product,” she said. “It was explained to me that the computers were being designed for ‘mere mortals,’ not engineers. So the graphics should be able to be understood by a wide audience… The current icon guidelines focus so much on illustrative style. My first priority is developing simple and memorable symbols. The best icons function more like signage than illustrations.”
