I looked at the apple music app for this exploration. I thought it was interesting how they seem to go back to basic human emotions for some of their icon, while others adhere to a much more recent set of iconography. Their use of the sound bars for radio and the triangle for play are the recent symbols, though one could argue that the play button looks like an arrow, implying the idea of forward, or “go”, and got translated to symbolize the start of playing music.
I think it’s interesting that they also incorporated symbols such as the heart, and the hamburger icon for what is playing next, which for years has symbolized lists. These symbols reach back to before the modern era, and are understood by people who may not be able to read the language on the device.
its interesting to see the connections between today’s design and ancient discoveries. but it would be great to see some pictures of the icons
Are there any symbols or pictographs from the ancients (Egyptian, Mayan, etc) that you would equate to being similar to the Apple music icons. The play button actually has a long history (75 yrs) and has evolved from electronic symbology and physical equipment.
It is definitely interesting to see the similarities between modern design and ancient iconography. It says that our human mind is innate to recognize and understand this universal “language”.