We have hired a very talented designer to create a new icon for 1Passwd. Tom Woodhams created the Democracy Player icon and disk image background; Roustem and I liked what we saw so we collaborated with Tom to see what he could do with 1Passwd.
We asked Tom for an icon that would set 1Passwd apart from the other Mac password managers. Other password manager icons symbolize the fact that they are secure. Security is obvious when you use the OS X Keychain, so we wanted something that would let people know we use the keychain, but most importantly, show that 1Passwd makes it easy to use your data.
In short, we asked a lot from Tom; we told him the icon had to:
- Contain a key to represent the OS X Keychain.
- Resemble a browser icon to reinforce the fact 1Passwd integrates into most browsers.
- Allow ‘locked’ and ‘unlocked’ states to reflect the Keychain’s status.
- And most importantly: Look so nice that users feel compelled to drag it onto their Dock
I expected Tom to quit when he saw the requirements; but instead he suggested that we use a Car Ignition to as the center piece of the icon and fired back a first draft:
This wasn’t at all what I expected, but we felt it looked good and fit 1Passwd well.
- The icon resembled other browser icons, but was unique in its own right.
- The majority of people will “get it”; there is one key that starts the “car”.
- The locked vs. unlocked status is part of the icon, and not simply a lock slapped onto an unrelated logo.
- Easily branded. For example: One Key. Full Control.
Today I received a second draft from Tom that included the key itself:
This is still a draft and Tom will be polishing it and adding a 1Passwd logo to the key, but it is close to complete.
The icon shown will be the main logo we use on the web site, and will be shown in the dock when 1Passwd is not running. When 1Passwd is running, the key will be inside the ignition, and turned to the “on” position when the keychain is unlocked.
We are feeling pretty good about this icon and are looking forward to replacing the current logo.
What do you think of the icon? Are there any little bits of ‘polish’ you would like to see included before the icon is finalized?
