Technical communicators with visual design skills increasingly are called upon to help design of the 'look and feel' of software interfaces, including icons andtoolbar buttons. Several practitioners in technicalcommunication have developed useful guides fordeveloping icons and toolbar buttons. Unfortunately,sometimes the application of these guidelines iscomplicated by issues that arise within the contexts ofspecific software development environments. This paperbriefly reviews research and guidelines. It then reviewsissues that might arise during the development processand guidelines for negotiating them based on the author’sexperiences developing icons at two different softwarefirms.
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