ICON

An icon is said to possess a quality or character which makes it significant by itself, even when its object does not actually exist. Icons resemble their objects in that they have similarities or analogies to their underlying object.

Examples include diagrams, photographs, algebraic equations. Each icon represents another thing, but in and of itself, possesses enough to be made use of alone. More can be deduced about the icon's underlying object than a conventional sign would permit.

The MacintoshFinder user interface is the best example of the use of icons. (One could make a case that the popular understanding of icons comes from the increasing use of such graphical user interfaces as the mackintosh). The best known icons from this environment are the "working" stopwatch, which appears on the screen while a user waits for a program to load, and the trash can icon, into which program folders (other icons) can be moved to be disposed of, or rather deleted from memory.