When you think of "Edit", what kind of icon do you think of?

[wienerdog]

I'm working on designing a web app, and trying to decide what the button should be for "Edit".

The edit button will enable the user to change the section of the page into a form where they can edit data and save, which will refresh (using AJAX).

It seems like there are going trends to use simply the word "Edit" as the button, or a pencil icon. I was thinking of using a gear icon, but am leaning towards thinking that really refers to "settings".

It seems pretty inconsistent across the web. I guess these decisions are somewhat subjective, but are there any studies or info online for any standards related to this? I haven't really found much searching around.

[Virgo Nightingale]

"Edit" makes me think of scissors and erasers.

[mojoprime]

a big eraser? maybe the top of a pencil?

[John G]

a big phat dollar sign


at least do it for the beta, you know you want to

[frankster]

The fact that when you type in "edit icon" into google it suggests the related search of "pencil icon" should tell you what people expect to see or look for when they want to edit something.

I'm a strong beleiver that if you are making a tool then the navigation needs to work as closely to what people expect as possible to reduce any learning curve, rather than different for the sake of difference.

[budafist]

Michael Jackson. If that face isn't about editing, I don't know what is.

[frankster]

The face of Edit, but who is the face of change?

http://thephoenix.com/secure/uploadedImages/The_Phoenix/News/News_Stories/COV_HillaryObamaNETour_kbon.jpg

[John G]

Hitler was a face of change.
This thread has no been Godwin'd for your protection.

[Savvywebdesign]

For the record, yes, the cog icon generally means "settings".

[urstwile]

I often see an icon that looks like a piece of paper with greeking on it as a thumbnail for settings. Otherwise, pencil for edit comes to mind, but that implies editing content to me, rather than settings.

[Broacher]

Pencils can get confused with 'draw' or 'freehand sketch'. A red pencil might be better.

What's the mood of the rest of the button symbol choices or the page or site itself? Are you going for universality or quirkiness, humour, theme resonance?

[captain spanky]

sledge hammer.
BAM!

[wienerdog]

Pencils can get confused with 'draw' or 'freehand sketch'. A red pencil might be better.

What's the mood of the rest of the button symbol choices or the page or site itself? Are you going for universality or quirkiness, humour, theme resonance?

I would say we're going with universality. The app is an online expense management system, so the buttons are pretty standard.

I would think that any icons we use on buttons will be as universal as possible, because if we put English on the buttons (such as "Edit"), we run the risk of giving ourselves more work if the app needs to be translated for international use at some point in the future.

I'm going to go with a pencil with rectangle behind for now, or in some instances, just use a text link instead of a button.

[Typically]

oh oh how about pencil with rectangle behind it like you said but the rectangle is black with a white squiggle that ends at the tip of the eraser? i can sketch it up real quick if you'd like =]

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j309/typically/eraser.jpg here we go