New Todos Icon : Draft One

February 4th, 2008 | Posted in: Applications, Mac, Tech | Save to del.icio.us

Todos 1 Icon Any Todos fans out there? You might know that Todos 2.0 is in current development and will be hitting alpha pretty soon. With the new version comes a new updated icon. Right now, I am going with a design that is very derivative of the old Todos icon. In terms of the old icon, there were a few issues. Firstly, it was based off of the OS X install package icon, which made Todos look too similar to those pack files. Secondly, it is at an odd angle. The box seems to be opening weirdly. Finally, the icon was 128 x 128, which is a no-no for Leopard. We need icons in their full 512 x 512 beauty.

To solve all these problems, I’ve begun to work on a new Todos icon. I mocked up a 3D box in Illustrator and imported the vector into Photoshop to add the application icons. I’ve made a few minor tweaks to the original Todos icon concept. The box now has a bit of a texture (might not be very identifiable at 128 x 128). I’ve also reduced the number of icons and changed some of the apps that are falling out of the box. Here is the large version of my first draft:

And if you are interested, here is the 128 x 128 version as well.

If you have any suggestions for modifications to this design, I would really appreciate them. This is still a work in progress, and will be revised many times. Also, if you have a radically different idea for a logo, I would love to hear it. It could be anything, so please give it a thought. It’s not too far into development to branch out into a new design. Thanks for all of your comments.

9 Replies

I think the shadowing on the box should be more like the one of the previous icon. Has a better 3D feel to it I think. Also I’m not sure why you decided to angle away from the mouth of the box, as that gives a weird perspective. It’s much more box-like if we can see the opening don’t you think?

Christopher Nunu on 2/4/2008 at 18:49

The angles of the edges where the box flaps meet the “open” end of the box don’t look the same as the angle of the edges on the top of the box. I’m not sure if it’s an optical illusion or if they’re actually different, but it looks that way.

mdmunoz on 2/4/2008 at 21:50

I’m quite glad to hear that you are working on Todos 2. I was a happy Todos user prior to Leopard, but ‘Stacks’ just don’t stack up to Todos (sorry for the bad pun). The ability of Todos to round up “all” applications from various directories, AND at various directory levels really make it more robust than Stacks IMO.

Regarding the new icon. If you were to continue using the box metaphor, I agree with some of the other comments that the current perspective and tilt may be a bit tricky on the eyes. You may wish to stick with something that’s a bit more pseudo-isometric, for example see these stock icons of boxes in diff. positions (lower right to be specific): http://www.istockphoto.com/file_closeup/?id=2961640&refnum=564978

Also, by including specific application samples in the icon itself, you introduce issues similar to when iCal did not display the actual date. Like, ‘hey, I thought I uninstalled Application-X, why is it still showing up in Todos…’ I’m wondering whether a single falling icon based on the standard Application “A” might be sufficient, or no icons coming out at all, and displaying Application, Utility, and Generic Folder icons on the 3 visible facets of the box itself. Also, what about changing the color of the box to be more distinct, perhaps making it look more like the black bezel glass of the window it brings up, or color (a’la pando.com).

Anyway, just some thoughts. No matter what, I look forward to using Todos 2 on Leopard.

James Young on 2/13/2008 at 15:50

I’m sooo happy you’re doing this. Todos is GREEEEAAAT. Can’t wait 2 use it on leopard. Thanks again for all your hard work.

Anonymous on 2/22/2008 at 13:54

Hello Justin,
so gladyou’re updating ToDos…. I’m mixed about the icon: it is new, but at the same time, is so close to the original that (maybe out of familiarity) I like the original better.
As a photog, i object to the box being turned the other way… it makes the movement of the contents awkward… but it’s well done…

personnally I wonder if I wouldn’t make an icon that replicates the look of the ToDo window… or maybe all the icons moving, but no box at all, just an explosion of small icons going in all directions from one ‘invisible’ source…

my 2 cents. Hope all goes well with the development of TD2.. good luck!

maxpol on 2/28/2008 at 09:24

Dustin,
not J… sorry!

brain goofed up…
blame it on my being french !

maxpol on 2/28/2008 at 09:25

Thanks for the comments Max. Yeah, it looks like the consensus is to look into the box. I also agree with your comment that it’s very similar to what the icon already is. Let me think about some other designs or if anyone has any suggestions feel free to post them.

Dustin Bachrach on 2/28/2008 at 10:49