Susan Kare is a name that may not be widely known outside the world of graphic design, but her creations are instantly recognizable to billions. She is the designer behind the original pixelated icons for the Apple Macintosh, including the smiling Happy Mac, the trash can, the bomb, and countless others. These small, simple images laid the foundation for modern graphical user interfaces and have become part of our collective visual vocabulary. Now, a major retrospective titled Icônes by Susan Kare at the Musée de l’imprimerie et de la communication graphique in Lyon celebrates her work and its enduring impact.

The Birth of the Icon

Born in 1954, Susan Kare earned a PhD in art from New York University before joining Apple in 1982. At the time, the company was developing the Macintosh, which was one of the first personal computers to feature a graphical user interface. Kare was tasked with creating the icons and fonts that would make the machine accessible and friendly. Working within the constraints of a 32x32 pixel grid and a black-and-white screen, she developed a unique style that was both functional and charming.

Her process was meticulous. She would sketch designs on graph paper, then translate them into pixels. The Happy Mac, for example, started as a rough sketch and evolved through many iterations. The result was a cheerful face that greeted users when they turned on their Mac, setting a welcoming tone for the machine. Similarly, the bomb icon, which appeared when a program crashed, was designed to be alarming yet not threatening. Kare's ability to convey complex ideas with minimal pixels was revolutionary.

The Exhibition in Lyon

The exhibition Icônes by Susan Kare is the first retrospective dedicated to this pioneering designer. It runs until September 18, 2022, at the Musée de l’imprimerie. The show presents original sketches, prototypes, and final designs, including 29 drawings from her notebooks that were acquired by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York. The exhibition also highlights the role of women in the graphic industries, a theme that Kare herself embodies.

One of the highlights is the display of the iconic Bomb on Red, a symbol that has become synonymous with system errors. The exhibition also features the Happy Macintosh on Orange Gradient and other classic icons. Visitors can see how these designs evolved from hand-drawn sketches to the polished images that defined an era.

Beyond the Macintosh

Kare's influence extends far beyond Apple. After leaving the company in 1985, she continued to design icons for NeXT, Microsoft, IBM, and later Facebook. Her work for Facebook included virtual gifts, such as the iconic kissing lips. She also designed the typefaces for the Macintosh, including Chicago, Geneva, and Monaco. Her approach to design—simple, clear, and evocative—has inspired generations of designers.

In 2019, she gave a talk at the San Francisco Public Library, Notes on Icons and Design, where she shared her philosophy. She emphasized the importance of creativity over technical constraints and the need for icons to be universally understood. Her influence can be seen in the emojis and icons that dominate modern digital communication.

The Broader Context: Pixel Art and Emojis

The exhibition also places Kare's work within the larger history of pixel art and graphic symbols. Pixel art reached its golden age in the early 1990s, when video games and computer graphics pushed the boundaries of what could be achieved with limited resources. The challenge of rendering spheres in pixel art, for example, was a well-known test of skill.

Emojis, which have become a global language, have their roots in the work of designers like Kare. The first set of emojis was created by Shigetaka Kurita for the Japanese telecom company DOCOMO in 1999. MoMA acquired a set of those emojis in 2016. The exhibition draws parallels between Kare's icons and these later developments, showing how the language of visual symbols has evolved.

Other related topics explored include the Rosetta Stone and its role in deciphering ancient languages, the history of the smiley face (which dates back to 1648), and the work of artists like Christian Dotremont, who invented logograms in 1962. The exhibition also mentions the dogcow (Clarus the Dogcow), a playful figure that appeared in early Apple documentation.

Interactive Activities for a Digital Summer

The exhibition includes a booklet of activities for visitors of all ages. These range from drawing your own favicon to translating your name into hieroglyphics. Visitors can also learn to decode the cartouche of an Egyptian pharaoh. For those interested in more modern activities, there is a playlist of music from 1984, the year the Macintosh was launched, and a game called Face Maker from 1983. The exhibition encourages visitors to reflect on their own use of icons and emojis.

One activity suggests using cross-stitch to create pixel art, offering a low-tech way to engage with digital design. Another invites visitors to print 3D models of the Rosetta Stone, provided by the British Museum. These hands-on experiences help bridge the gap between historical artifacts and contemporary digital culture.

Cultural Impact and Legacy

Susan Kare's icons have entered the realm of intangible cultural heritage. They are easy to recognize, reproduce, and imitate. As one journalist noted, we are all like Molière's Monsieur Jourdain, using icons without knowing it. The trash can, the clock, the bomb—these are now universal symbols that transcend language and culture.

Kare's work also highlights the role of women in technology and design. She was one of the few female designers at Apple in the early 1980s, and her success paved the way for others. The exhibition in Lyon deliberately emphasizes the contributions of women to the graphic industries, featuring not only Kare but also other female designers whose work has been overlooked.

The exhibition also touches on the philosophical questions raised by the proliferation of emojis. What do we expect from these tiny images? Do we want them to become a comprehensive visual language, or are they just decorative punctuation? As the New Yorker once asked, these questions become more pressing as emojis become more complex and widespread.

Looking to the future, some artists are experimenting with neural interfaces and cat-ear prosthetics, as seen in the work of the Japanese collective Neurowear. These bizarre inventions suggest that the evolution of icons and symbols is far from over. Susan Kare's foundational work, however, remains the touchstone against which all such developments are measured.

The exhibition Icônes by Susan Kare is a fitting tribute to a designer who changed the way we interact with technology. By celebrating her achievements, it also honors the art of the pixel—a medium that continues to thrive in the age of high-resolution displays. Whether you are a design enthusiast, a history buff, or just someone who uses a computer, this exhibition offers a fascinating glimpse into the origins of the icons we see every day.

Source:Poptronics News