11

It's funny that we still use floppy disks icon for save operation association while floppies have long been outdated, unused and many computer users nowadays don't even know how floppy disks actually look like?

Question

What could be a more contemporary icon for Save operation?

Sidenote: This is not a duplicate of Save icon, is the floppy disk icon dead? question because it explains why floppy disk icon is used. I'm rather asking what could be todays replacement for it.

Community
  • 1
Robert Koritnik
  • 541
  • 3
  • 15
  • 3
    As stated by Charles Boyung in that question:"the icon is ubiquitous with saving. Changing it would cause more problems than it would solve. Think of it this way - can YOU think of anything to replace it with that would be more universally understood? There really isn't anything.

    The same thing holds true for the "phone" icons used on cell phones and even Skype, or (eventually) the envelope icon for email. When was the last time you saw a phone that actually looked like the old, standard handset that is almost always used as the phone icon?"

     – Matt Rockwell Sep 22 '11 at 11:35
  • @ChrisF: I'm not asking why doesn't it get replaced. I'm asking what could replace it? – Robert Koritnik Sep 22 '11 at 11:45
  • 4
    The answer is "nothing could replace it" for the reasons given. – ChrisF Sep 22 '11 at 11:46
  • @ChrisF: :) Very good comment. (funny as well) – Robert Koritnik Sep 22 '11 at 11:49
  • 1
    This has already been asked elsewhere http://graphicdesign.stackexchange.com/questions/323/new-generation-of-save-icon-that-is-not-a-disk in a different context. – zzzzBov Sep 22 '11 at 14:16
  • 1
    It's also a high rated question on Stack Overflow: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/1019573/save-icon-still-a-floppy-disk – DisgruntledGoat Sep 22 '11 at 14:25

6 Answers6

19

Why would you want something more contemporary which users don't understand? What are you improving about their experience by doing this?

Don't use something different just to be cool or clever. All you would be doing is illustrating that good graphic design is not the same as good UX design.

JohnGB
  • 68,376
  • 26
  • 180
  • 294
  • 1
    I'm not saying I'd like to change floppy icon. I'm just contemplating alternatives/ideas. but I still upvoted your answer. – Robert Koritnik Sep 22 '11 at 11:47
  • I understand that, but even saying that "x" is a more contemporary icon will get people to use it even though it is bad ux. – JohnGB Sep 22 '11 at 11:51
  • An 'Upload to the Could" icon (cloud with an upwards pointing arrow) could work fairly well. It is in context as well as contemporary. I don't think it is as widely understood as the floppy icon but is gaining in acceptance as Upload icon. The use case is pretty much the same for saving nowadays. – Martyn Oct 19 '15 at 02:52
11

Here's what is rapidly becoming the new replacement save icon:

enter image description here

That's assuming it's needed at all of course. For example, it's used by Google Docs here - although they've added text as well in this case:

enter image description here

Roger Attrill
  • 71,049
  • 15
  • 151
  • 246
4

As others have pointed out it probably isn't going to be replaced by anything but rather be removed and replaced by an undo button. Google Docs is probably the best example.

The funny thing is that I actually miss the button. Several times after writing I wanted to save and felt very uneasy until I went into File/Save (but of course by that time that button said "Saved" and was disabled). That's how used we get to these things and to loosing stuff on Windows 95 because we didn't save often enough.

Omar Kohl
  • 335
  • 1
  • 7
  • Hence the auto save functionality. Computers used to be much more unstable those days. I can remember doing stuff for a few hours in CorelDraw 3 when it froze on me. It was like a nightmare! Thank god for auto save that I set to 10 minutes. – Robert Koritnik Sep 22 '11 at 14:02
2

I think the disk icon is here to stay. Everyone knows what it means, and it makes the point clear. A CD icon would be confusing, and I haven't seen a decent enough hard drive icon that can replace it. Plus, as we get older, maybe kids will ask us what the save icon picture is, and we can reminisce about the good old days. :)

Black Save Icon Blue Save Icon

Musaab
  • 423
  • 1
  • 3
  • 10
2

From The Design of Everyday Things, convention is the last resort of design, and the floppy disk has become convention. There's a chance that different colors or positions might work better for traffic stop lights, but trying to change the colors would not only be foolish, it would be dangerous.

Stefan Kendall
  • 596
  • 1
  • 5
  • 13
-1

To oppose the other answers, there is a "save" icon I've seen once or twice that I think works quite well - and is even more low-tech. An image of a pencil.

Izkata
  • 522
  • 3
  • 6