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You must design an icon for a save function that can be easily understood by anyone in the future. What does that icon look like to you? (self.asklemmy)

submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by hornywarthogfart to c/[email protected]

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We reached the point (some time ago) where the save icon being a floppy disk makes absolutely no sense to anyone born after a certain time. We could choose a more modern media format and use an icon of that instead, but we would run into the same problem once that media becomes obsolete.

What is a good icon for the function of saving something that can easily be understood by anyone regardless of language or the march of time?

Edit: I know it's not really an answerable question and is hard but the question is what would you come up with if tasks to design an icon. Given the constraints of the question, what are your best shots at coming up with something that fills the requirements and why do you thing it would work?

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

A friend was a design teacher and he taught me that design uses existing symbolism and iconography. But you can't control what people will ultimately use your design for. The babadook for example, was a monster intended to cause fear in a horror movie. However, a clerical error by Netflix and an over imaginative tumblr user, turned it into a queer icon that is now widely recognized on internet culture. Of course you can sort of imbue intent and predict use of design to some extent, but humans have an arbitrary side that makes it hard to say something would be a better icon for an abstract concept.

[–] hornywarthogfart 1 points 11 hours ago

Thank you, I appreciate this response to my comment. It's given me a wider perspective on the topic in general. It's almost like that arbitrary side is what keeps the wobble in humanity's path which forces us to continue advancing and understanding the world, never becoming complacent.