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“Share This” Icon Concept #2

December 6, 2006

Bob had some good ideas from my previous concept, and I’ve come up with a second concept for a Share This icon based on one of them:

Here they are in context with the Feed and OPML icons:

Concept #1

Share This Icon Concept #1 With Peers

Small Versions

Concept #2

Share This Icon Concept #2 With Peers

Concept #2a

Share This Icon Concept #2a With Peers

Comments are open.

41 Replies

Categories Development, Share Icon, Technology, WordPress

  • 41 Replies
  • 39 Comments
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Last reply was 1615 days ago
  1. wyckedone
    View 1886 days ago

    I like #1. The icon looks like it’s connecting one site to two others.

    Reply
  2. Bob
    View 1886 days ago

    A ha! I knew the star was my ticket to fame and fortune! :) I do like 2a, the hole matches up nicely with the dots from the other logos and balances out the otherwise large white area in the center.

    Reply
  3. MacStansbury
    View 1886 days ago

    Prepare for the merciless onslaught of the Daring Fireballers.

    Frankly, I’d stick with the first concept. None of the icons mean a thing until you tell us what they mean. Without you saying, “that RSS, that’s OPML, and that’s a sharing icon,” I’d never know what they meant.

    Then again, most people don’t know after you tell them what they mean.

    Reply
  4. Ulysses Ronquillo
    View 1886 days ago

    Just to even it out. I like #2. The star without the hole looks elegant.

    Reply
  5. Aen
    View 1886 days ago

    #2a looks like a shuriken, so it’s more “ninja” to me than sharing.
    I still like #1, maybe because the star’s too sharp and uninviting. The RSS and OPML are very soft and rounded symbols and comfortable to look at.

    Reply
  6. Nick
    View 1886 days ago

    I like #1 the best.

    Reply
  7. Gregory Pittman
    View 1886 days ago

    I like #1

    Reply
  8. Bob
    View 1886 days ago

    Cool. What do you like about #1? The idea that nodes are being connected?

    Maybe we could do something with an asterisk:

    http://lonesysadmin.[...]on-part-two/

    Reply
  9. Trevor Turk
    View 1886 days ago

    I like the star, because that means something along the lines of “i like this”, but I’m wondering if a heart might be a nice idea…?

    I dig the idea that this icon means “share this” but I’m thinking that most people are going to think of it as “bookmark this” or “i like this” if you catch my meaning.

    Thinking along those lines makes me feel like a star, heart, or even a bookmark’d book would make sense to more people at first glance.

    I appreciate the effort, and I’m glad to hear that you’re going to use a liberal license. I checked out feedicons.com, and it seems like they don’t even have a license mentioned at all. I was wonder if that might be a good way to go, and also if you’ve considered publishing your work on that site as well.

    Thanks again for all the work!

    Reply
  10. Alex
    View 1886 days ago

    Matt Brett (the creator of feedicons.com) is not the creator of the feed icon itself. The icon must be licensed so that it can be legally used by others.

    Reply
  11. Gregory Pittman
    View 1886 days ago

    Yes, I think it’s the connectivity concept I like about the first one. The asterisk has possibilities! I wonder if the second asterisk (the one on which you’re not sure what you were thinking; I actually think you’ve got something there) can be tweaked to remove the one vertical line and add a circle to the center? So all four “nodes” connect to one central node (i.e., the figurative post that’s being shared).

    Reply
  12. Stephen
    View 1886 days ago

    I can definitely see how #1 could work well. It immediately implies one idea (node) spreading to two. It even looks a little like an open mouth in profile.

    However, sharing isn’t a 1-to-2 connection; it’s a one-to-many relationship.

    I vote for #2a because the star better represents that one to many connection and the dot in the middle ties it in more closely with the other icons. People will still need to learn the new icon, but it helps when the branding is consistent.

    Reply
  13. SabrinaW
    View 1886 days ago

    I vote for #1 it implies “share this” more than the star does in my eyes.

    Funny though I do kind of like the “jacks” one that Bob made. When I looked at it, I remember playing jacks and it’s funny how close those little scattered “sharing” links relate to the game of jacks. I fear not many will see what I do in that though *lol*

    BTW First time comment on your blog and I would like to let you know I love lurking and reading here. I think what your doing for that cluttered mess of links below a post is wonderful too.

    Reply
  14. Beth
    View 1886 days ago

    I’m usually a lurker as well- my opinion? I still like the original concept. To me it shows connecting to others- when you share something- it doesn’t necessarily mean you like the content being shared- you could be in complete disagreement and want to share it with another blogger or a friend. With the first icon- it shows this connection with others.

    Reply
  15. don bohrer
    View 1886 days ago

    first impressions… I like your original idea best.

    don (el paso)

    Reply
  16. Geof F. Morris
    View 1886 days ago

    Let me suggest a 2b:

    Star, with hole in center, with lines going from the edge of the circle to the points of the star. That would evoke the one-to-many concept, no?

    Reply
  17. Leonid Mamchenkov
    View 1886 days ago

    I like #1 best of all. I think though that three connections would look slightly better. It’ll be like a star-topology network, but small enough to fit on the icon.

    If you have to go with the star, then I prefer the one with the hole (#2a).

    Reply
  18. Alistair
    View 1886 days ago

    #1

    Reply
  19. Joefish
    View 1886 days ago

    I like #1.

    Reply
  20. iolaire
    View 1885 days ago

    Another one for #1

    Reply
  21. bjohnm
    View 1885 days ago

    I like #1.

    Reply
  22. Philip Karpiak
    View 1885 days ago

    I really like #2. It really gives the Star It kind of vibe. But I think #1 suits the Share This/Networking concept more.

    Reply
  23. Mike
    View 1885 days ago

    The first icon definitely suggests the concpet of sharing better than a star. Also, a star is a generic symbol whereas #1 would establish immediate recognition. Think of the merchandising potential!

    Reply
  24. Trixie
    View 1885 days ago

    I like #1 the best. You can tell at first glance that it is one node linking to another. There is no judgment of the content implied, which I believe makes it more useful for all users.

    Reply
  25. Herb
    View 1885 days ago

    I like #1 because of the connecting points. Or how about something of an obtuse star like one of these with the end points being dots?

    Reply
  26. Matt W
    View 1885 days ago

    I vote for #1

    Reply
  27. Andre
    View 1885 days ago

    #1 looks great

    Reply
  28. Jimmy
    View 1885 days ago

    I like #1 also, but wouldn’t a hand make a nice sharing icon? Just a thought… :-)

    Reply
  29. Nate
    View 1885 days ago

    I like Concept #1.

    Reply
  30. Laundro
    View 1885 days ago

    I like #1 better… The star is cool, but it doesnt really explain anything…

    Reply
  31. Davis W. Frank
    View 1883 days ago

    I like the star, but I wonder if rounded points would look more consistent with the other two…

    Reply
  32. Nopadon
    View 1883 days ago

    1# the three connected points is a nice and intuitive

    Reply
  33. Picard102
    View 1882 days ago

    I’ve all ways used the pill icon to represent sharing. Maybe I’ll do some concepts up in this sort of vein.

    Reply
  34. ijcl
    View 1881 days ago

    I think stars have been used in many other places for ratings, preferences, or even to indicate favourites of some sort. It may be confusing to use them for something else.

    I like option #1 as it is more obviously about the connection one-to-two even if the connection can be one-to-many

    The one-to-many connection can be implied by adding extra node from a child node, a la USB icon)

    Reply
  35. jd
    View 1880 days ago

    I think the green connection icon thingie is best. It’s the connections made that is the idea you are trying to get across.

    Suggestion: With the email tab, can you create the option so people can send a friend a link to the site and not just the post or page?

    Great plugin, btw – I will be using it as soon as I sort out some CSS issues I have with it and the Cutline Theme.

    Reply
  36. Dicontas
    View 1873 days ago

    I vote for #1 – the plugin looks great and helps to get rid of the many social links which frees up screen space for real content.

    Reply
  37. David Bradley Science Writer
    View 1871 days ago

    It has to be #1 surely. The star has too many other symbolicisms (is that a word?)

    Reply
  38. Vyoma
    View 1855 days ago

    I would like to vote that the previous concept was much better. The star gives it all odd vibes feel. The three dots connected had a intuitive feel to it.

    Reply
  39. “Share This” Icon Concept #1 | alexking.org
    View 1752 days ago

    [...] Concept #2 [...]

    Reply
  40. Nat
    View 1621 days ago

    This is great, I know you published this a long time ago, but I really think this work should be a web standard.

    Reply
  41. Iconified Metadata | Robert Accettura’s Fun With Wordage
    View 1615 days ago

    [...] the idea of an OPML icon. Now there’s the idea of a “Share This” icon and a Microsummary icon (which I could see being a standard as the feature is cool [...]

    Reply
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Alex King, Web Developer

I live in Denver, CO where I founded Crowd Favorite. We enjoy building cool web stuff – especially with WordPress and Open Source.

I was an original contributor to WordPress, creator of ShareThis, and I am the co-founder of CloudMoxie and BackupMoxie.

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