HIG discussion topic: Icons for delete vs remove vs move to trash vs close
This came up in documentation/develop-kde-org!368. And we discussed this years ago in Phabricator, in https://phabricator.kde.org/T12777, but we're not consistent about the icons we use for deletion and removal, and there are some conflicts and inconsistencies stemming from it.
Status quo:
- Closing windows/dialogs/tabs: either a black X (in the window decoration) or a red-circled X (via the
window-close
icon) - Moving things to the trash: a black trashcan via the
trash-empty
icon - Deleting things from disk: a red trashcan via the
edit-delete
icon - Removing list items or other abstract UI elements like Plasma widgets from the view/current configuration: sometimes a red trashcan via the
edit-delete
icon, and sometimes a red X via theedit-delete-remove
icon - Icons with "remove this thing" badges in the corner usually use a red X for the badge, but sometimes a red minus sign (e.g.
kt-remove-filters
) and sometimes a red trash can (e.g.mail-deleted
)
The status quo causes various issues:
- Using a black trashcan for a common non-destructive action ("move to trash") and a red version of the same action for destructive actions isn't ideal
- Using a red X for various close icons isn't ideal since red means destructive, and closing dialogs and windows isn't destructive
- The red trashcan icon for destructive actions can't be used universally since it doesn't easily fit in the corner as a badge, so we end up mixing our visual metaphors
Proposal tor fixing it:
- Commit to using a red X for all destructive remove/delete action icons, as well as the remove/delete badges in the corner of icons
- Use a black X for the window/dialog/tab closing icon, to be consistent with the black X using in the window decoration.
- Stop using the red trashcan icon entirely. It's too similar to the black one
Thus, our remove/delete/close icons will be simpler, clearer, and more consistent. It also largely mirrors the rough conclusion in https://phabricator.kde.org/T12777, which was that we should use a red X for irreversible deletion and a black trashcan for reversible deletion.
Edited by Nate Graham