A Question about Default Icons (Or, It's Amateur Sociology Time! \0/ )

[solarcat]

Default icons.

Most of us have them, I would venture. But in changing my default icon recently, I got to thinking about how we choose default icons.

I know that in some cases, I associate icons with people almost as strongly as I associate their online handles (which is saying something, since in many cases the only name I have for someone is their online handle!). For example, long before I was friends with sansets, I knew her default icon (and in fact I had a moment of "Oh, hey, YOU!" during the friending process, which I am admitting here only because it's relevant to the topic at hand *shame*). BTW, sansets? You are never allowed to change your icon, or I will have to hurt you~, okay? All my <3, Me.

That's just a tiny example, but I was thinking about it. What impact does a default icon have? Do we draw conclusions about users based on their default icon? If, for instance, a default icon isn't overly polished, or if it's pixelated, or hard to read, or not 100x100px, or any number of other things that might be considered "faults", does that affect our perception of the user the icon is representing?

I guess I'm pondering this because icons ARE representational in the LJ/DW-verse, where we often communicate solely by text. The icons a we use may be the only visual representation of us that our friends and acquaintances see.

So besides the question of perception (that is, what impact do you think others' icons/icon choices have on your perceptions of them), I'm also wondering what, if any, consideration goes into selecting your own default icon. Have you had the same icon for years and years, or does it change more frequently? Do you prefer a more general image for your default, or is it a fandom-based icon? Do you mean your icon to make any sort of statement, or represent something about you?


Because I always try to do a bit of self-analysis when I do these sorts of posts, I guess I'll take a look at my own icon, as well as my perception of others'.


It's sort of embarrassing to admit, but I think I do tend to make a first-impression judgment based on icons. For instance, if I see someone posting using a blurry or sort of amateurish icon (where the type is blurred or can't be seen against the background, generally sort of unpolished), I do catch myself thinking, not necessarily anything bad about the person, but perhaps that they're newer to LJ, haven't been around long enough to find icon-makers and snag some of their lovely creations.

Examining that, it's obviously a faulty assumption, and one I shouldn't make, but it's interesting to me that I consider the use of "pretty" icons to indicate familiarity with and activity in the LJ/DW-sphere. What I can't necessarily pin down is whether this comes from the general fact that the people I admire and who I know have been involved in the fannish community tend, on average, to have very nice icons (making it a top-down association), or whether it's a bottom-up association, meaning that I have perhaps encountered more newbie LJ users with amateurish icons. (I really don't feel like the word "amateurish" really captures what I'm talking about, and I'd be glad of suggestions on this. It's not the right word, but using a term like "bad" would be making a value judgment that I feel would be supremely unfair, here, so I'm trying to avoid that.)

As far as my own default icon goes, I have had several in my LJ career. The ones I can remember, at this point, are my Carmen Sandiego icon (which was generally a big hit--favorable perception based on nostalgia? Most of the comments I got about it were of the "OMG is that Carmen Sandiego?? I used to watch that show all the time!!" sort), my recent Misha Collins icon with Star Trek (2009)-inspired lens flare (obviously a fannish icon, which incorporated my current obsessions with both SPN and STXI), and this current one (which I am hard selecting rather than leaving to the "default" setting, because I want this entry to make sense if I ever change it again! XD ).

My current default icon I made myself, out of a stock photo I fell in love with at first sight. However, I've had it hanging around in my icon slots for nearly a year now, and it's only just become my default. I think my motivation was somewhat based in my inability to Stop Messing With Stuff, but also because I tend to view favorably (and remember) icons with simple, somewhat iconic (yes, yes) images. This icon image is one that spoke to me, and continues to speak to me, which is why it has eventually made its way to "default" status. As to what it says about me to outside observers, I have no idea. (Feel free to share your impressions, though!)



Hi there, metafandomers! Yipe, okay, so my email didn't bother to give me comments all day yesterday; I didn't mean to ignore all of you!! D= I can't guarantee I'll reply to everybody, I think I'm just gonna hang out and participate in the discussion, at this point, but I really appreciate all of you taking the time to read and share your opinions! Also, I want to make it clear that by making this post, I'm not trying to insult anyone! Your icon is your personal choice; I'm interested in why and/or how you made that choice. *g*

Comments

[kadnarim]

My current icon has been the same since I started usin lj (only about a year ago, wow).I made it myself, so it's pretty simple, but I think it looks nice, and I don't mind it being associated automatically with me.

I guess I do tend to judge people based on their icons, sometimes on how "amateur" they look and sometimes on how well I can relate to them.

[justhuman]

I change my default about six or eight times a year -- it's more of a seasonal mood marker for me. Right now it's a literal winter one, but during the November writfest I had a user name="wrisomifu" site="livejournal"> icon up. Kinda more about what I'm doing or feeling.

That being said, I only use the default when I forget to set an icon. I feel less attached to the default once LJ started enforcing rules about content on the default icon. I don't have any obscene or "perceived as obscene" icons, but I think I should be able to use one if I want one.

I do recognize flist folks by the icons they use most -- although, I think for most of them that they are icons they use a lot and not necessarily their default.

[valentinite]

Heh, my default icon is a bit of a silly story. When I first created valentinite (same current default icon as this journal, used on this comment), it was for fannish lurking. Right about then, a meme was going around the people I lurked for fic-reading that asked about your first fictional crush. So I created one with the character in this icon -- Riff Raff, from Catillac Cats.

Eventually, I a) got better at icon-making and b) DVDs of Catillac Cats came out and the selection of online screencaps improved radically. So I swapped out the old Riff Raff icon for a new one, and added a bunch of mood-themey-style other icons. I doubt I'll ever change it, even if it's kind of an odd choice, since I'm not really a huge fan of the show -- it's just a mild childhood nostalgia thing.

But it's very definitely unique and likely to stay so.

My non-fannish journal also has never changed defaults -- it's antimony and it's LJ nametwin, and the icon is just a periodic table entry for Antimony. I kind of loathe the color, but I'm more loathe to change it after almost a decade.

[devvieish]

(here via metafandom)

I'm somewhat surprised to see people say 'why would you have an unpolished icon when there are so many beautiful ones out there'? My icon has poor quality text because I made it and I don't know how to make it better. I know there are lots of wonderful icon-makers out there, but since my icon is supposed to represent 'me', I somehow feel that it should be something I've made myself.

[lotesse]

Me too - I've never used an icon I didn't make myself, no matter how much I liked it. Icons are a part of my fanac, and while they may not be perfect, neither is any of the other work I make for fandom - which is, after all, pretty much amateur by definition.

[devvieish]

your icon looks perfect enough to me! the text is intriguing, and *hugs Gwen*

[lotesse]

Thanks! This is one of the ones I'm happiest with - though Gwen is so pretty that she makes it easy.

[kaz]

I'm glad I'm not the only one, because I too was baffled by those comments. I go further; I refuse to use a default icon that has any artwork I didn't make myself or photos (because, you know, not me!). Soo I am forced to rely on my Photoshop skillz.

I have some icons that don't fit this criteria but I don't feel comfortable with them; I pretty much only ever use my default icon anyway.

Here via metafandom

[keerawa]

I've had the same default icon since I got my LJ. I definitely consider it a part of my identity, and tend to recognize other people by their icon rather than their LJ handle. I've only recently started dabbling in posting using icons relevant to the topic or fandom.

I form 'first impressions' of people based on their icons - who they are, what's important to them, their general state of being.

[starpiper]

I tend to have my default icon complement whatever theme I have going on for my LJ. For example, my current LJ header image is a Glee one, so the default icon has something to do with Glee. Occasionally, the theme and default won't match up; my last theme was RomeoXJuliet and, due to both not having any RXJ icons and liking the previous Supergirl default so much, I just left the old default in place.

My Dreamwidth account is still pretty new to me and I haven't been able to find time to figure out how to make personalized journal themes, so the default just matches up to the one I have on LJ.

I'd be lying if I said that the quality of an icon has never been a factor in forming an opinion (more so in the case of fanfic than any other type of post), but, being one of those people who generally likes to make her own icons, I get why someone would pick an unpolished one over a prettier one. It's nice to have your posts be represented by something you made, and if you don't have access to Photoshop or a similar program, the stuff you make might come out looking pretty rough.

Uh, so that's my two cents, anyway. Sorry for rambling on. ::cough::

[quinfirefrorefiddle]

Here from metafandom. Most of my time in fandom has not been in places where there are icons. I did, briefly, have a fannish LJ, and I remember I used an icon I made for my default, of my favorite pairing at the time. It wasn't horribly pixelated or anything, I also chose it because I thought it was one of my better works.

My current DW default icon I chose because Nine was my favorite Doctor, and he's happy so rarely. Also, when I chose it I was starting up my comm, writing_religion, and having a widely-known agnostic character who loves books and is played by a well-known atheist actor as my default seemed like a good way to convince people the comm was about research and not proselytizing.

My personal journal's on LJ, and I've had two default icons there. Both of them were from avatar sites, where you can design an icon or a doll that looks like you. I designed both to look like me, and the only reason I changed was because I found a doll site that did better-quality art than the first one.

I do remember certain icons, and I agree that the simpler pictures tend to stick with me longer. Also, the brightness of color tends to tell me something about a person's personality- bright happy colors means a happy person, dark colors means an angsty person, and a text icon means a text-centric person, etc. Which aren't always true, of course, but I find that the way I choose which icon to use is often accurate that way for my own moods. And I agree with assuming that someone's new to blogging if their icons are rough- or I just tend to think they don't care much about their icons.

[harpers_child]

my default is fannish, but incredibly obscure. it's from a BtVS comic called "Tales of the Slayer" which presented one shot stories about several slayers before Buffy and one slayer after. it's an important bit of the character's story arc because while Fray is a slayer, she didn't get the whole mystical connection to past slayers bit. her twin brother did. in the comic she's just found a library full of watcher's journals and reference books. what you can't see is the voice-over box i've cropped out that says "I am the only one in the world, but I am not alone." a fitting fannish sentiment, yeah?

the "biblophile" is because i'm kind of a book nerd even if i don't talk about them much online. it's also possibly misspelled depending on which dictionary you're looking at.

[wendelah1]

When I first created my journal, my intention was to use one icon that people would associate with me. I was seduced into using multiple icons by their attractiveness, their clever text, and so on. I now change my default icon on Live Journal frequently, but I don't think it matters since I don't belong to any large communities. I change my icon for the seasons, for holidays, for significant events in my life. I do admit to having some "amateurish" icons that I have created for myself, although I don't use them as my default. If people are going to judge my writing by something that superficial, there is really nothing I can do about it. I'm much more likely to judge writers by their inability to use "lose" and "loose" correctly; even so, if I like their story, I'll probably finish it even if I won't rec it.

The icon I am using here is my default for Dreamwidth (the Snoopy that is currently in holiday rotation not withstanding), and will probably remain so indefinitely. I like birds, I like red, and I associate it with a favorite poem. It matches my journal layout and I don't post here often enough to feel a need to change it.

My default icon on Live Journal would be something festive, but there was a death in my family just recently so I can't bring myself to use my Mulder/Scully in a snowglobe icon. Next year, I guess.

[davincis_girl]

Here from metafandom.

I'm a fan artist, so my icons are usually made from my favourite works at the time. I only have 15 spots so I weed them out as I get something I like better. However, my default is different. This is an image I made before starting fanart, and it works well because I'm into mulitple fandoms. This one is fandom neutral, and I think easy to connect with me.

In general, I really enjoying seeing what is out there for icons. Sometimes the icons in comment posts are a whole other level of communication.

The only ones that really annoy me are those that are very sexually graphic (I mean much more than what you have up there) used in comments. They come up unexpectedly which can be very unwanted if you are at work or with children in the room and you have opened what, by the author/artist warning is safe to open.

[fenellaevangela]

It's actually interesting that I should come across this because the topic just came up the other day!

This year I exchanged greeting cards with someone on my LJ f-list and I recieved my card from her on Friday. In it she wrote a little note saying how she always pictures me as an older man with glasses because of my icon. I tend to do the same thing, and it always throws me for a loop when someone I read regularly changes their default/most commonly-used icon.

For reference, my default icon on LJ, which I haven't changed in some time, is this:

here via, you guessed it, metafandom

[kaz]

My icon habits are a bit strange: for one, as mentioned above I don't really use icons I did not make myself - from scratch. No photos, no artwork, no nothing. Since my Photoshop skillz are not precisely something to boast about, I'm now terrified that dozens of people over the years have discounted me based on my icon and I never knew.

I also pretty much only ever use my default icon, because I do the associating-icon-with-person thing in my head. Whereas some people may switch their icon based on what's being discussed, mood, what fandom they're in, etc. I just don't feel comfortable using more than one icon.

This icon I made for Dreamwidth and I'm not that happy with it, I keep meaning to go back and play around with it and try to get it to look nicer. I have another icon for LJ, and that one's a bit of an awkward situation - it says "Genficcer" in big letters, because I made it at a time where I very much identified as someone who wrote solely genfic. This was something like five or six years ago, and although I'm still very gen-heavy I do write other things and don't consider it nearly so important as I used to - I don't feel the icon actually accurately describes me anymore. At the same time, it's been me for so long that I can't bear to part from it. :(

Metafandomer ahoy!

[anya_elizabeth]

^Kittyspoon is my default when it is not Christmastime. Analysis, please, anyone? *g*

I picked it at random from doodles on my HD when I started getting into meta; 'This is quite homoerotic' (A Torchwood quote) was endlessly appropriate for slashfic comments, but not so much on other stuff. *g*

[shirasade]

I used to choose my default according to my journal color scheme, usually something non-fannish with my username on it, mostly custom-made for me. But this last year I've had the same icon, made by a friend from a request on my LJ Santa wishlist, and I think I'll stick with it.

It's one of my tattoos, a custom design from a RL friend, drawn specifically for me, which I got when I was studying in New Zealand. So the little reading fairy has all sorts of positive connotations for me, in addition to being something like a representation of my playful-but-bookish side.

[ciaan]

My default icon (this one) is amateurish because it's one of the first I ever made, back in 2003 or so. So ironically to your impressions, its very amateurishness is indication of just how long I've been on LJ-type sites. I keep using it because I've been using it for so long that to use anything else is almost unthinkable. It's just become so... default to my icon-thinking.

But then, it was also a huge leap for me after years of only using my own icons to finally for the first time ever recently start using icons made by other people. I'm trying to think of them as more like clothes and less like faces.

(Back in the day we had to walk uphill both ways paid users on LJ only had 10 icons and free users had 3. I think icons have really changed in most people's use now that they can have so many more.)