The ineffectiveness of lonely icons

This article argues that using lonely icons (icons without accompanying text labels) is ineffective for a general audience. The author shares a personal anecdote about his mother's difficulty understanding Gmail's icons for 'write email' and 'send'. He discusses the technical problems with displaying icons, the cognitive load they impose due to their abstract nature, and designers' common incorrect assumptions about user recognition and discoverability. The article concludes that icons are only appropriate when accompanied by words or when the user is explicitly familiar with their specific meaning, like road signs, advocating for text as a more reliable means of communication.