Susan Kare

An American artist and graphic designer who created many of the original Macintosh icons and screen fonts.

Kare gave unfamiliar computer actions friendly, memorable pictures. Her tiny pixel grids helped make personal computing understandable to ordinary people.

• ■Pixel precision
• ■Everyday metaphors
• ■Friendly simplicity
• ■High recognition at tiny sizes
• ■Humor within constraints

• ■Original Macintosh icon set
• ■Chicago and Geneva screen fonts
• ■Command symbol adaptation
• ■Windows Solitaire cards
• ■Facebook virtual gifts

• ■An icon should communicate before it decorates.
• ■Severe technical limits can sharpen an idea.
• ■Familiar objects help people understand unfamiliar systems.

Her visual language established the humane character of graphical interfaces and remains a reference for icon and product designers.

1. 01Can the icon be recognized without its label?
2. 02Which details survive a sixteen-pixel grid?
3. 03How do expression and humor reduce anxiety?