Adobe CS4 Replacement Icons

Download here (Windows, Mac):
[link]

What are these icons?

This is the replacement of Adobe Creative Suite 4 default icons. Some time ago, when Adobe released CS3 (and then CS4), many designers around the world were not happy with the new style of application icons and came up with their own ideas (example, example, example, example). I know I am a couple of years late but you might like my icons as well.

Why did I design them?

I was mostly inspired by this article by Mike Hopkins, and I agree that:

• the icons of creative applications should inspire, and default icons do not;


• the use of name abbreviations is arguable - ideally, icons should reflect what the app does, not how it is called;

There were, however, some ideas in default icons that I liked:

• colors (if you use my icons you will notice you can easily recognize them, because they use the same colors);


• consistent shape (boring square, but you can quickly idenfity any icon form Adobe CS4 family by its shape).

I also felt that Mike Hopkins' icons were too much work of art, too complex. I tried to keep them simple but at the same time I put as much meaning as I could into each icon, using apps' interfaces as inspiration. Most icons have "rulers" on top and left, Photoshop icon means "pixels", Illustrator means "vector", Lightroom means "histogram" etc.

Are my icons better?

I don't think so! For me this was just a quick spare-time project, and Adobe surely spend more time and efforts. But my approach is different and so far, I like it more. If time permits I will polish the icons. Meanwhile, your feedback is welcome!

Help! How to change icons?

• How to change icons in Windows


• How to change icons in Mac OS X Leopard