Please Reconsider the Use of the New Grey Icons

[+Don_J]

This post is in regards to the new grey icons. It is not a complaint against any of the new icon images and I would appreciate if other contributors would not steer the discussion in that direction.

 

As a slightly visually impaired user, I find the grey icons and their lack of proper contrast have made them completely indistinguishable from each other. I, as well as others simply cannot see the images that the icons portray. Because of that, it has made the website difficult to use. My request is that these icons be modified to give them some contrast. Many shades of grey, or grey and white simply do not give enough contrast in a 16X16 pixel image.

 

I would hope the Geocaching.com would be considerate and inclusive of all of it's users, including those with physical handicaps. This was not an issue with the old icon set.

 

Thank you for your consideration.

[+wyrdsister]

I am sorry I must add my weight for the request of reconsidering the colours of the icons,they are extremely difficult to see. I wonder how a colour blind person finds them.

[+The_Incredibles_]

I'm not visually impaired, but I am 100% behind those that are. I hope Groundspeak will reconside the colors/shading of the new icons.

[+davejp84]

While i find the grey rather dull, I like the other icons, like the spanners and publish/archive icons

 

However while i have no handicap it didnt occur to me that those with vision impairments would have problems.

 

I'll +1 this for the sake of fellow cachers that struggle to distinguish between them.

[+speakers-corner]

+1 to topic

[+Bushwalker53]

I know, My teacher this year was colourblind and It was interesting what he could and couldn't see. The new website colours irritate me too due to the fact that they all seem the same until you look at them closely, and being colourblind, well, it must be almost impossible to see. I don't even know why they changed it! I hope it changes back to how it was, on everyone's behalf!

[+Castle Mischief]

I'm not colorblind but I do find the icons to be fuzzy and difficult to read against off-white backgrounds across the site. They appear almost to be poorly re-sized larger images and don't look to have been created in the dimensions they are being used at.

[+Car54]

Another "older" cacher whose bifocals are having trouble distinguishing the new icons in their gray status.

[+cerberus1]

I wasn't diagnosed with visual dyslexia until late in life.

Americans with disabilities act wasn't around when I was young (back when God made dirt) and had to wing it most my life.

 

At 57, I can figure out what's going on well enough that few would notice.

- But theses little grey thingies really confuse.

Yes, I see that good-sized print explains what those fuzzy fur balls are when hovering, but it detracts from the concentration I need.

When the icons were colored and had discernible shapes, I was able to process them easily.

Not so much now.

[+kunarion]

I find the grey icons and their lack of proper contrast have made them completely indistinguishable from each other.

I just mouse hover over them. A description pops up (except for the two overlapping grey icons, which I think means "Multiple Trackables", but I'm uncertain, and the frowny-face just says "Didn", which is odd). There was a [smashed ant] icon in the list, I couldn't figure out what it could mean, hovered it, and it turns out it's a particular Geocoin.

 

Is there an announcement by GS that grey icons are the final solution for the site? If not, they're in the process of changing things, nicer ones are coming, these are not the icons you're looking for. There seem to be intermediate steps for most any change around here, and Step One tends to be lousy for some reason. I also think someone big among TPTB loves faded pastels.

 

The new "wrench" is not grey, it's red. The TB icon isn't gray, it's exactly the same black-outlined icon it's been for a while. I think this is all still actively in work, or everything would be part of a standard, a theme. It doesn't look finished to me.

 

A magnifier tool works wonders, too. I click a mouse button, and the spot where the cursor is gets huge. No problems then (it is kind of blocky but what ya gonna do). On my 'droid, everything is half as big as it needs to be, to see. There's a swipe for that.

 

There are tons of indecipherable Geocoin icons, and I think they're the same as they've always been(?). Such as this one, almost invisible:

 

Edited December 17, 2012 by kunarion

[+Don_J]

I find the grey icons and their lack of proper contrast have made them completely indistinguishable from each other.

I just mouse hover over them. A description pops up (except for the two overlapping grey icons, which I think means "Multiple Trackables", but I'm uncertain, and the frowny-face just says "Didn", which is odd). There was a [smashed ant] icon in the list, I couldn't figure out what it could mean, hovered it, and it turns out it's a particular Geocoin.

 

Is there an announcement by GS that grey icons are the final solution for the site? If not, they're in the process of changing things, nicer ones are coming, these are not the icons you're looking for. There seem to be intermediate steps for most any change around here, and Step One tends to be lousy for some reason. I also think someone big among TPTB loves faded pastels.

 

The new "wrench" is not grey, it's red. The TB icon isn't gray, it's exactly the same black-outlined icon it's been for a while. I think this is all still actively in work, or everything would be part of a standard, a theme. It doesn't look finished to me.

 

A magnifier tool works wonders, too. I click a mouse button, and the spot where the cursor is gets huge. No problems then (it is kind of blocky but what ya gonna do). On my 'droid, everything is half as big as it needs to be, to see. There's a swipe for that.

 

There are tons of indecipherable Geocoin icons, and I think they're the same as they've always been(?). Such as this one, almost invisible:

 

 

I understand, but in my entire little world of the Internet, this is the only site that I have to mouse-over icons or use a magnifier tool. It wasn't that way a week ago today, and hopefully, it won't be after 1 Pm tomorrow.

[+K13]

I find the grey icons and their lack of proper contrast have made them completely indistinguishable from each other.

I just mouse hover over them. A description pops up (except for the two overlapping grey icons, which I think means "Multiple Trackables", but I'm uncertain, and the frowny-face just says "Didn", which is odd). There was a [smashed ant] icon in the list, I couldn't figure out what it could mean, hovered it, and it turns out it's a particular Geocoin.

 

Is there an announcement by GS that grey icons are the final solution for the site? If not, they're in the process of changing things, nicer ones are coming, these are not the icons you're looking for. There seem to be intermediate steps for most any change around here, and Step One tends to be lousy for some reason. I also think someone big among TPTB loves faded pastels.

 

The new "wrench" is not grey, it's red. The TB icon isn't gray, it's exactly the same black-outlined icon it's been for a while. I think this is all still actively in work, or everything would be part of a standard, a theme. It doesn't look finished to me.

 

A magnifier tool works wonders, too. I click a mouse button, and the spot where the cursor is gets huge. No problems then (it is kind of blocky but what ya gonna do). On my 'droid, everything is half as big as it needs to be, to see. There's a swipe for that.

 

There are tons of indecipherable Geocoin icons, and I think they're the same as they've always been(?). Such as this one, almost invisible:

 

 

I understand, but in my entire little world of the Internet, this is the only site that I have to mouse-over icons or use a magnifier tool. It wasn't that way a week ago today, and hopefully, it won't be after 1 Pm tomorrow.

 

+1 (my bolded parts)

[+edscott]

"Mousing over" them is certainly slower and more trouble than just being able to see them. Why not just make them visible to the human eye? Has anyone really been able to see the little bug on the TB icon. That one and several others are just meaningless grey blobs. Noticed one that looks somewhat like a grey gear.. bicycle cache??? C'mon make them useful again.

[+MartyBartfast]

I'm not visually impaired, but I am 100% behind those that are. I hope Groundspeak will reconside the colors/shading of the new icons.

 

Me too.

[+maxx borchovski]

I'm not visually impared, just getting on a bit and quite depressed that I've just had to employ 'reading glasses' so having to squint at grey icons isn't improving my mood, LOL