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Design

Exploring Our Relationship To Our Computers: The Evolution Of Computer Icons

Computer iconography is one of the most immediate ways we engage with our machines, but they haven't always remained the same.

The Intel Roadshow is rolling into New York this Friday. It's free and open daily to the public from 10AM. It will be running from 17-19 May at Gansevoort Plaza, NYC and will feature installations, talks, performances, and Ultrabook giveaways.

For the Intel Roadshow The Creators Project has created three unique, interactive, and fun art pieces that will be on display throughtout the shows time in New York. These have been created from some very talented designers and artists—one of the featured works will be from  who specialise in creating compelling ways for people to interact with data.

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For their piece the group have created a series of stunning data visualizations that explore our relationship to our computers: the time spent waiting for them to boot up and the iconography associated with this, how the size and processing power of computers has changed, the words we associate with our machines, and how the gestures we use have evolved.

One of the most immediate ways we're connected to our computers is through the interface. Those icons that sit staring back at you from your desktop, they've become a familiar sight to us all, entering popular culture and serving as a source for inspiration for artworks. But mostly they're the first port of call for us to engage with our machines and as such have facilitated their adoption into our lives.

Their look and feel—much like the machines they allow us to interact with—have changed quite a bit over the years. Here's a look back at some of the evolving iconography on Macs and PCs from the 1980s to the present.

In the Beginning…

Artist Susan Kare designed the icons for the Apple Macintosh 1.0 back in 1984, they were simple and fun, setting a precedence for clarity and concision. She also designed the MacPaint interface and a number of Apple typefaces.

Macintosh 1.0 icons. Screengrab from artist's website.

The following year Microsoft brought out Windows 1.0 which was its first graphical user interface, which also included Windows Paint. Like the Apple icons, there's no sign of color just yet.

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Windows 1.0. Image via

We Have Color

Skip forward to the 90s and we have color coming for both Mac and PC.

In 1990 Windows got none other than Susan Kare to redesign their icons for Windows 3. While these had color they also started to take on a look that would remain familiar, if not entirely the same, to PC users over the next ten years. Windows 3 was also the first Windows OS to include the now legendary Solitaire game.

Windows 3. Image via

Macintosh System 7 came out in 1991 and with it the wonder of colored icons was brought to Apple users too. Praise be.

Macintosh System 7. Image via

From Pixels To Shiny-Smoothness

If we jump forward around ten years you'll see how the icons suddenly changed in 2001 from having a pixelated look to a more smooth or glossy appearance. To us 21st century nostalgia fiends the pixel look may have retro appeal, but hey, onwards and upwards, right?

With 2001's Windows XP the icons went all soft and rounded.

Windows XP. Image via

For Apple and the first iteration of their Mac OS X it was all about being glossy, so the icons went all shiny and textured to become the icons we know and love today.

Mac OS X. Image via

The Present Day

Jump forward another ten years or so and we have Windows 8 with its controversial touch user interface and tile icons. The icons have lost their illusion of 3D and now become two-tone graphics, white on a colored background.

Windows 8. Image via

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And for Mac there's the ninth version of OS X, Mountain Lion. The dock's theme got updated and the icons became ever so slightly more refined and buffed, with some newbies including the iCloud and Games Center icon.

OS X Mountain Lion. Image via

With thanks to Kate McInnes' fantastic article on GUIs 

@stewart23rd