

WP7's app bar icons - Where consistency fails. - Memento
http://www.significantpixels.com/2011/11/23/windows-phone-7s-application-bar-icons/

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pedalpete
I see the authors point, and I'm not a designer, but as a wp7 user, I have to
disagree.

Looking at his image comparison, with and without the circles, he's absolutely
right that without the circle it is easier to see the image.

However, which looks nicer? I'm sure there was discussion at MS about which to
chose, and it won't be the first time that visual appeal won out over
function.

As an example, the lack of strain relief on Apple cables (and unfortunately
many other companies have followed).

Another issue with the lack of the circle in theory is that it allows
designers/developers to believe that they have free reign over this space. The
circle may be as much of a hint to designers that they are limited to these
areas to keep the UI as clean as possible.

