Actually, I think that one at least has some history to it.
The disk drive was one of the first ways to store information between computer sessions as the first computers didn’t have built in storage. You would create a program, run it, and then when you shut the computer off it was gone. Since the disk drive was used to store programs for later, or “save” them, the icon was born from the physical object.
Sharing, conversely, doesn’t really have a real world example to base the icon on. Maybe two hands exchanging things? Perhaps two arrows to illustrate the ability for things to go both ways? Maybe a set of interconnected dots to show the connection between things? Any of them could work, so the iconography is less clear.
I think it’s meant to show how one becomes two. One person shares… something, and then that something has doubled. I’m just used to it by now. Never really had to give it thought.
I see the Apple one as just showing that a menu will come up, it’s just visually showing what will happen when it’s pressed, and that happens to be the share menu.
TIL this share symbol is android specific.
As an iOS user the Android share icon makes no sense. How does that icon represent sharing? The iOS one is much clearer.
It’s actually not Android specific, but even then they all make about the same sense to me (which is not a tonne)
Icons generally dont have to make sense. The universal save icon being a floppy disk is a good example. It just needs to be recognizable.
Actually, I think that one at least has some history to it.
The disk drive was one of the first ways to store information between computer sessions as the first computers didn’t have built in storage. You would create a program, run it, and then when you shut the computer off it was gone. Since the disk drive was used to store programs for later, or “save” them, the icon was born from the physical object.
Sharing, conversely, doesn’t really have a real world example to base the icon on. Maybe two hands exchanging things? Perhaps two arrows to illustrate the ability for things to go both ways? Maybe a set of interconnected dots to show the connection between things? Any of them could work, so the iconography is less clear.
I think it’s meant to show how one becomes two. One person shares… something, and then that something has doubled. I’m just used to it by now. Never really had to give it thought.
Huh. The Apple one is new to me. It looks like an “upload” icon, which I guess makes sense.
The Android one looks like something being spread/copied from one point to two other points. Which also makes sense.
I see the Apple one as just showing that a menu will come up, it’s just visually showing what will happen when it’s pressed, and that happens to be the share menu.
I can see that. But that doesn’t help identify sharing! Haha
Like splitting from another cell? Or like splitting a bullet. Now 2 target can share the sweat relieve of death <3
/s