No one knows that the floppy disk means save. At least, that's what the campus librarian insisted when she reviewed the website I worked on for her university. I had done research on just this issue, proving that over 100 college students could identify what the floppy disk meant, and though I beamed with excitement as I showed her this, it wasn't enough. New students are always coming in, she said, much younger than the ones I polled. So I went back and surveyed 526 high schoolers to find out definitively: Do teenagers understand the outdated tech in our icons? The survey says yes.

1. MILAN 20/21.11.2015
In Defense of the Floppy Disk
LIS PARDI – DIGITAS HEALTH

2. IN DEFENSE
OF THE
FLOPPY DISK
LIS PARDI
@LISPARDI

3. Lis icon designed by Jay Bellew
HI. I’M LIS.

5. Students designed by Piotrek Chuchla from The Noun Project

6. LIBRARIANS

7. LIBRARIANS… DON’T SHUSH

8. Save designed by Cris Dobbins from The Noun Project
OUR EMBATTLED HERO

9. Download designed by Michael Zenaty from The Noun Project
PUT YOUR FILE IN HALF A BOX

10. Students designed by Piotrek Chuchla from The Noun Project
“SERIOUSLY, I’M ONLY 20 BUT YOUNG
PEOPLE AREN’T THAT BLIND TO OLD
TECH”

11. *NOT ACTUAL GENDER RATIO
Students designed by Piotrek Chuchla from The Noun Project

13. 1. What is this a picture of?
2. What does this represent on a computer or phone?

14. SCINTILLATING SPREADSHEETS

15. 96% KNOW THIS IS A FLOPPY DISK
Save designed by Cris Dobbins from The Noun Project

16. 83% KNOW THIS MEANS SAVE
Save designed by Cris Dobbins from The Noun Project

17. Save designed by Cris Dobbins from The Noun Project
I win!
Hooray!

18. Students designed by Piotrek Chuchla from The Noun Project
X 5

19. Reddit alien
KNOWN FOR ITS PROFESSIONALISM

21. If you’d like to know the results of this
study when it’s completed, please enter
your email address below (optional)
anus@anus.anus
TEEN FACT #1: THEY’RE OBVIOUS
WHEN THEY’RE MESSING WITH YOU

22. CONSIDER
THE AUDIENCE

23. WHEN WORKING WITH WORDS
DON’T
INSULT
YOUR USERS

24. WHEN WORKING WITH ICONS
DON’T
INSULT
YOUR USERS

25. Piggy Bank designed by Stephanie Wauters from the thenounproject.com
OINK. I’M A JERK.

26. WHEN WORKING WITH WORDS
CONTEXT
MATTERS

27. Donkey designed by m. turan ercan from the thenounproject.com
Kettle designed by Jennifer Cozzette from the thenounproject.com
*NOT TO SCALE

28. WHEN WORKING WITH ICONS
CONTEXT
MATTERS

29. Magnifying glass by The Noun Project

30. Magnifying
Glass 95%
Other 5%
WHAT IS THIS?

31. Search
71%
Zoom
24%
Other 2%
Search/Zoom 3%
WHAT DOES IT REPRESENT?

32. Pencil designed by Blake Thompson, from The Noun Project

33. 1. What is this a picture of?
2. What does this represent on a computer or phone?
idk
TEEN FACT #2: ELEVEN PEOPLE
COULD NOT IDENTIFY THIS OBJECT

34. Pencil
97%
No guess 2%
Pen 1%
WHAT IS THIS?

35. Write
24%
Draw 13%
No guess 17%
Edit/Write 7%
Draw/Edit 2%
Edit
22%
Note 2%
Pencil 2%
Draw/Write 2%
New 2%
Type 2%
Other 5%
WHAT DOES IT REPRESENT?

36. Voicemail by The Noun Project

37. Tape/
Recording
53%
No
guess
32%
Voicemail 5%
Glasses 1%
Phone 2%
Spaghetti
(and similar) 2%
Other 2%
WHAT IS THIS?

38. Voicemail
49%
No
guess
30%
Recording/
Voicemail 1%
Recording 12%
Video 2%
Message 1%
Other 5%
WHAT DOES IT REPRESENT?

39. 1. What is this a picture of?
2. What does this represent on a computer or phone?
[censored]
TEEN FACT #3:
THEY’RE INNOCENT

40. OLD IS
NOTHING NEW

41. WHEN WORKING WITH WORDS
USE
METAPHORS

42. Telegraph designed by Luke Anthony Firth from The Noun Project

43. Telephone from The Noun Project

44. Increase designed by Rediffusion from the thenounproject.com

45. Paper designed by Tom Schott from the thenounproject.com

47. WHEN WORKING WITH ICONS
USE
METAPHORS

49. Envelope
95%
Email 2%
Other 3%
WHAT IS THIS?

50. Email
61%
Mail 12%
Mail/Message 2%
Email/Message
10%
Message 9%
Send 3%
Other 3%
WHAT DOES IT REPRESENT?

52. Phone
99%
Call 1%
WHAT IS THIS?

53. Call/Dialer
95%
Other 5%
WHAT DOES IT REPRESENT?

54. Folder designed by Sergio Calcara, from The Noun Project

55. Folder
88%
Other 3%
File 9%
WHAT IS THIS?

56. Folder
76%
Directory 2%
File 10%
File/Folder 2%
Save 2%
Open 2%
Other 6%
WHAT DOES IT REPRESENT?

57. Contact designed by Johan H. W. Basberg, from The Noun Project

58. ID
Card
39%
Rolodex 8%
No guess 10%
Address Book 7%
Contact Card 18%
Photo ID 6%
Contact 4%
Business Card 2%
Newspaper 2%
Profile 1%
Other 3%
WHAT IS THIS?

59. Contacts
63%
Profile 13%
Information 1%
No Guess 18%
Address Book 2%
Other 3%
WHAT DOES IT REPRESENT?

60. 1. What is this a picture of?
2. What does this represent on a computer or phone?
ID? I’m 14
No [censored] clue since I don’t have one yet.
TEEN FACT #4:
THEY’RE SENSITIVE

61. Save designed by Cris Dobbins from The Noun Project

62. Floppy
Disk 91%
Hard drive 2%
Flash/SD/
Memory card 2%
No guess 3%
Other 2%
WHAT IS THIS?

63. Save
91%
No guess 3%
Memory 1%
Storage 2%
Other 3%
WHAT DOES IT REPRESENT?

64. 1. What is this a picture of?
2. What does this represent on a computer or phone?
An outdated memory storage device used to baffle children
TEEN FACT #5:
THEY THINK THEY’RE CLEVER

65. WHEN WORKING WITH ICONS
DIGITAL AND
PHYSICAL ARE
CONFUSING

67. Trash 98%
Other 2%
WHAT IS THIS?

68. Delete
39%
Delete/Recycle 4%Trash
40%
Delete/Trash 7%
Recycle Bin 8%
Other 2%
WHAT DOES IT REPRESENT?

69. 1. What is this a picture of?
2. What does this represent on a computer or phone?
TEEN FACT #6:
THEY’RE A LITTLE FUNNY
my hopes and dreamsUr mom hahahagagsga jk trash messages

70. WHAT IF
THERE ISN’T A
PHYSICAL
EQUIVALENT?

71. WHEN WORKING WITH WORDS
DO THE BEST
YOU CAN

73. WHEN WORKING WITH ICONS
DO THE BEST
YOU CAN

75. Gear 95%
Settings 3%
Other 2%
WHAT IS THIS?

76. WHAT DOES IT REPRESENT?
Settings
98%
Other 2%

77. Link designed by David Waschbüsch, from The Noun Project

78. Chain
77%
Paperclip 9%
Link 6%
No guess 6%
Other 2%
WHAT IS THIS?

79. Link
54%
Connection 6%
Attachment 11%
Link account or
device 1%
Attachment/Link 2%
Link/Share 2%
Share 3%
No guess 15%
Other 6%
WHAT DOES IT REPRESENT?

81. “…we used to tell
potential users that the
image was an ‘air vent’ to
keep the window cool”
– Norm Cox

83. MENU

84. Students designed by Piotrek Chuchla from The Noun Project
THEY HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS

85. REMEMBER:
Don’t insult
your users
Context matters Use metaphors
Digital is
confusing
Do the best you can Don’t kill my friend

86. Save designed by Cris Dobbins from The Noun Project
@LISPARDI
LISPARDI.COM

87. MILAN 20/21.11.2015 - SPEAKER S NAME
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