Originally published at: https://tidbits.com/2018/04/24/susan-kare-honored-with-aiga-medal/
Susan Kare, designer of the original Macintosh’s icons and several of its fonts, has been awarded the prestigious AIGA medal.
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“she was responsible for the Command symbol”
Maybe for using it, but that symbol was a standard infographic in widespread use around Europe at the time.
Still is in use. I came across it on several signs in Finland last year where it is used to indicate a place of interest.
And don’t forget the smile, the trash can, the dog cow, grabber hand, and the (arrrrrrgh) dreaded bomb. Or Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Cairo, Monaco, London, etc. - bitmapped, low res fonts that were so beautifully readable, scalable, modern and clean.
Marilyn
Yes, that’s why I used the specific wording I did, since she didn’t (and never claimed otherwise) create it. But it’s one of the most recognizable symbols still left from the early days.
That said, I still miss Clarus, the dogcow! See The History of Clarus the Dogcow – 512 Pixels
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Utilizing an eclectic pool of sources ranging from pirate lore to ancient hieroglyphics, Kare then conceptualized the jargon into a digestible visual metaphor. The command symbol, for instance, was conceived when Kare pored through old symbology books for hours and saw the Saint Hannes cross, an ancient symbol also used by Scandinavians in the 1960s to mark locations of cultural interest.
–Jim
The only tattoo I would ever consider getting.
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I miss Clarus too, especially the animated one bellowing MOOF
Speaking of old times, yesterday I was in San Francisco and happened to drive by what used to be the restaurant that was the go to for the Netter’s Dinner.