PyrusMalus | Design
Icon Design
if a
picture is worth
a thousand
words…
…how many is an icon worth?
Woquovis
Woquovis is a Mac OS X application currently under development at PyrusMalus, which will provide a simple and convenient way of uploading WebObjects applications to remote servers. If you're not a WebObjects developer you'll not want a copy of Woquovis, but if you are, and want to save time and frustration when it comes to deployment, Woquovis might be the solution you're looking for.
Ideas
The name doesn't provide much inspiration for the icon — in fact, the name itself is a whole other story. So the ideas behind the icon came from the purpose behind the application: installing a WebObjects application on a server.
It was felt that the application should fit in with existing application icons, particularly those provided as administration tools in Mac OS X Server.
Server Settings, Work Group Manager, Server Monitor, and Server Status Icons (© Apple)
These icons all have a common style, and all incorporate a metallic disk to represent the server.
This provided the base for the icon, and the other icons provided the visual style to adopt. The cog was chosen to represent WebObjects, a decision aided by the use of cogs on new WebObjects packaging.
Here the metallic nature was changed to a more Aqua-blue to fit in with the other icons.
WebObjects icon (© Apple) Woquovis icon (© PyrusMalus)
The downward-pointing arrow was chosen to represent installation, an image that would be recognized from applications such as the Apple-provided Installer.
Installer icon (© Apple) Woquovis icon (© PyrusMalus)
These ideas combined to form the essential elements of the icon: Server + WebObjects + Install
Applications may use their Dock icon to represent progress or status: for example the number of new emails in Mail.
Mail (© Apple) Woquovis icon (© PyrusMalus)
The Woquovis application icon was designed so that it could also display warnings or status information. For example, the warning symbol appears when there has been a problem during the installation.
Process
Once the format of the icon is decided, a number of design iterations are performed to translate the idea into a workable icon. This process serves to refine and improve the icon until it works at various sizes: from the large preview shown in the Finder down to the sizes it will be displayed at in the Dock.
Copyright
The images featured on this page are the copyright of the respective owners.
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