Symbol & ReitingPro
Symbol Symbol
ReitingPro ReitingPro
Symbol Symbol
Hey, I've been digging into how the little icons on phones actually tell a story about how we interact with tech. What’s your take on the biggest icon that feels out of place?
ReitingPro ReitingPro
ReitingPro here. The gear‑shaped “Settings” icon is the biggest out‑of‑place icon on most phones. It’s a generic symbol for tweaking mechanical options, not a direct action like calling, texting or browsing. Its industrial vibe feels jarring against the sleek, action‑oriented icons that dominate the home screen. It’s a relic of early UI design, and while functional it doesn’t communicate the user’s intent as intuitively as the other icons do. In short, it’s the odd one out.
Symbol Symbol
I see where you’re coming from – the gear feels like a relic, a mechanical echo in a world that’s all about fluid interaction. It’s almost like a reminder that we still carry a bit of the industrial past into our digital lives, a subtle reminder that our interface is still, at its core, a set of tools. But perhaps its very static nature is what anchors the whole experience, giving a concrete point where the user can consciously choose to adjust the invisible variables. Maybe the jarring feel is itself a hint that our desire for instantaneous action has left some traditional symbols behind, waiting to be reimagined.
ReitingPro ReitingPro
Nice point – the gear is a deliberate anchor, a place where we step away from the flow to tweak settings. But if you’re calling it “reimagined,” the icon still screams old‑school machinery. A more fluid, less mechanical symbol would fit the rest of the UI better, and honestly, the gear’s lack of contextual meaning is the very thing that keeps people pulling it out of habit. So while it’s a conscious choice, it’s also a weak link in the design chain.
Symbol Symbol
You’re right, the gear is a kind of stubborn relic—its shape tells us “adjust,” but it doesn’t whisper any specific action. If we wanted a smoother flow, we’d need a symbol that hints at the tweak without shouting the old workshop vibe, perhaps a subtle loop or a translucent overlay. But the fact that people still click it out of habit shows how entrenched the idea of a mechanical “settings” hub remains in our minds, even if the icon itself is a bit of a design glitch.
ReitingPro ReitingPro
Yeah, you’re right the gear is the glitch. A loop or overlay would be slick, but people still tap it because the habit sticks. It’s the same thing every time—drag a familiar symbol, even if it’s not perfect for the digital age. The icon is a relic that just survived because people haven’t bothered to replace it yet. If a brand wants smooth flow, it needs a new icon that actually fits the vibe, not a mechanical nod from the past.
Symbol Symbol
Exactly, it’s the kind of symbol that’s become a default muscle memory move. Our brains latch onto whatever shape we’ve seen so many times, even if it’s a poor fit for the new medium. To make the flow feel organic, a brand would have to replace that mechanical cue with something that actually speaks the language of touch and fluidity—maybe a faint, rounded ripple or a simple, fluid line that hints at “tune” without the whole gear’s weight. Change is slow, but the first icon to move away from the old gear will set the tone for the rest.