Facebook alters icon design to take women out of the ‘shadow of the man’
A leading Facebook designer has rejigged some of the site's most prominent icons to more fairly represent women.
After Facebook unveiled a new logo – which features a sleeker typeface – design manager Caitlin Winner expressed the importance of symbology in respect to the site’s iconography, and how she made minor alterations to the friends and groups icons to be more inclusive.
Writing on Medium, Winner said: “As a woman, educated at a women’s college, it was hard not to read into the symbolism of the current icon; the woman was quite literally in the shadow of the man, she was not in a position to lean in.
“The lady icon needed a shoulder, so I drew it in - and so began my many month descent into the rabbit hole of icon design.”
As a result, the friends icon on the left was replaced by Winner's new design on the right.
The groups icon was also shuffled to more feature a woman centre front, flanked by two males.
Furthermore, work was made to ensure the notifications globe reflects where users are in the world, adding an extra touch of personalisation to the process.
