Play Pause icon merges, evolves, migrates
Play and Pause icons are virtually universal now. In fact, they’re so universal, they’re migrating to other products outside the audio video world.
I spotted this while walking through a major consumer electronics retailer the other day. Check out the new washing machine from LG.
Look closely in the middle.
Here, let me help.
Traditional media icons have migrated to laundry machines. And really, it’s not too surprising. Washers for years have proudly displayed a big knob that either started or paused the wash cycle with a mechanical push/pull. A big toggle.
As electronics became cheaper, the big washer knob eventually went digital. For example, look at the button on our LG washer, which we bought about three years ago.
Like other Play Pause buttons, this is a digital Push Push instead of a mechanical Push Pull. You simply push this button to toggle between Start and Pause. But at this point in the design evolution, they still labeled it as Start Pause. This is the key. Labeling is often the easiest way to reposition or reframe something, and it costs zero difference to print one word over another. It’s making the right choice.
As a counterexample, look at this new Whirlpool Duet washer, sitting in the store about six feet from the LG shown above.
Start and Pause again, but as separate buttons. This is the more traditional approach, but signifies that Whirlpool is an “old” washer while the LG is a “new” washer.
Isn’t design fun?
Back to the story, making the cognitive leap from Start Pause to Play Pause is completely natural. Due to the widespread prevalence of media players, adopting the Play Pause icon both simplifies the product story and makes a bold “this product is the future” claim, all at the same time.
This further cements a trend where these icons are merging into one. They aren’t separate Play and Pause icons side by side anymore. They are simply now one Play Pause icon.
Make it go. Make it stop. One button. That’s it.
What other non-media devices have you seen that include the Play Pause icon? Will we see a car adopt the Play Pause icon, much like the Prius has proudly adopted the Power icon?
On a side note, let’s look at that Whirlpool Start icon again.
Reflecting back to Tuesday’s post on printer icons, this is fascinating. This icon is either the missing link or love child of the classic Power icon plus the standard printer Start icon. Same gesture as Power (vertical bar leaping up out of a standard shape) but same style as Start (diamond with a vertical bar). Interesting.