The Iconfactory
Encyclopedia
The Iconfactory is a small software and graphic design company that specializes in creating icons
and software for creating and using icons. The company was founded in April 1996 by Corey Marion, Talos Tsui, and Gedeon Maheux. Lead Engineer Craig Hockenberry joined the company in 1997 and Artist Dave Brasgalla joined in January 1999. The company incorporated in January 2000. The Iconfactory gained popularity through the creation of packages of free icons for download, but quickly grew to become one of the leading studios in commercial icon design. The Iconfactory also publishes software for creating, organizing and using icons as well as general GUI applications.
From 1997 until 2004, the Iconfactory held an annual icon design contest for the Macintosh
icon community called Pixelpalooza. The competition was a chance for aspiring artists from all over the world to design and produce original icon creations for the chance of winning software and hardware prizes. Pixelpalooza was discontinued in 2005, although the company says it may make a return in the future.
The Iconfactory's most notable client project to date was creating over 100 icons for Microsoft
to be included in the Windows XP
operating system
as well as creating the base icons in Windows Vista
's Aero
interface. They have also created over 100 icons for the Xbox 360
UI
and website.
Discontinued:
CandyBar and Pixadex are maintained with Panic
. xScope and Frenzic are maintained with ARTIS Software.
asserted two of its four patents: U.S. Patent No. 7,620,565 ("the '565 patent") on a "customer-based design module" and U.S. Patent No. 7,222,078 ("the '078 patent") on "Methods and Systems for Gathering Information from Units of a Commodity Across a Network." against Iconfactory and 6 other developers.
Icon (computing)
A computer icon is a pictogram displayed on a computer screen and used to navigate a computer system or mobile device. The icon itself is a small picture or symbol serving as a quick, intuitive representation of a software tool, function or a data file accessible on the system. It functions as an...
and software for creating and using icons. The company was founded in April 1996 by Corey Marion, Talos Tsui, and Gedeon Maheux. Lead Engineer Craig Hockenberry joined the company in 1997 and Artist Dave Brasgalla joined in January 1999. The company incorporated in January 2000. The Iconfactory gained popularity through the creation of packages of free icons for download, but quickly grew to become one of the leading studios in commercial icon design. The Iconfactory also publishes software for creating, organizing and using icons as well as general GUI applications.
From 1997 until 2004, the Iconfactory held an annual icon design contest for the Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
icon community called Pixelpalooza. The competition was a chance for aspiring artists from all over the world to design and produce original icon creations for the chance of winning software and hardware prizes. Pixelpalooza was discontinued in 2005, although the company says it may make a return in the future.
The Iconfactory's most notable client project to date was creating over 100 icons for Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
to be included in the Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
as well as creating the base icons in Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
's Aero
Windows Aero
Windows Aero is the graphical user interface and the default theme in most editions of Windows Vista and Windows 7, operating systems released by Microsoft. It is also available in Windows Server 2008, but is not enabled by default. Its name is a backronym for Authentic, Energetic, Reflective and...
interface. They have also created over 100 icons for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
UI
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
and website.
Software
- IconBuilderIconBuilderIconBuilder is a popular plugin for Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements and Macromedia Fireworks for the editing and creation of computer icons created and used by The Iconfactory. It supports all icon sizes for both Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows...
— Adobe PhotoshopAdobe PhotoshopAdobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop...
Plugin for creating iconsIcon (computing)A computer icon is a pictogram displayed on a computer screen and used to navigate a computer system or mobile device. The icon itself is a small picture or symbol serving as a quick, intuitive representation of a software tool, function or a data file accessible on the system. It functions as an...
. - CandyBarCandyBarCandyBar is a Mac OS X application by Panic and The Iconfactory that replaces system icons with icons/docks of the user's choosing. The latest release, CandyBar 3, runs on Mac OS X 10.5 "Leopard" and 10.6 "Snow Leopard" and supports high-resolution 512-by-512 Leopard icons, as well as changing the...
— Tool to organize and change system icons. - iPulseIPulseiPulse is a visual system monitoring tool by The Iconfactory. It visualizes information about CPU, memory, network, battery and disk usage. Though iPulse uses vector graphics to draw most of its visualizations, it is currently limited to 128 pixels in size. The newest version has a monitor in the...
— Utility to visualize system activity. - FrenzicFrenzicFrenzic is a puzzle game released by The Iconfactory and ARTIS Software for Mac OS X on 17 February 2007 and later on the Nintendo DSiWare in November 2010. According to the game credits, the concept of the game was invented by Wolfgang Ante who gave the idea to The Iconfactory, and later did most...
— Puzzle game that "takes minutes to learn and months to master". - Frenzic Mobile — iPhoneIPhoneThe iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
and iPod TouchIPod TouchThe iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
version of Frenzic. - xScopeXScopexScope is a utility by The Iconfactory & ARTIS Software that can measure any element displayed on screen. The idea behind the program is that designers can check the size of their work against real-world computer display measurements and be able to measure their work as well.-Features:* Dimensions...
— Tool for measuring elements on screen. - Dine-O-Matic — Dashboard widget to help decide where to eat.
- DownloadCheck — Simple utility inspired by the MP3ConceptMP3ConceptMP3Concept is the first trojan horse for Mac OS X, created around April 2004. MP3Concept is benign, it was designed as a proof of concept regarding how a file can be disguised to an end user in a GUI environment on Mac OS X. It is an application bundle that looks like an MP3 file. When launched, it...
trojan horseTrojan horse (computing)A Trojan horse, or Trojan, is software that appears to perform a desirable function for the user prior to run or install, but steals information or harms the system. The term is derived from the Trojan Horse story in Greek mythology.-Malware:A destructive program that masquerades as a benign... - TwitterrificTwitterrificTwitterrific is a Mac OS X and iOS client for the social networking site Twitter. The client, created by The Iconfactory, lets users view in real time "tweets" or micro-blog posts on the Twitter website as well as publish their own.-Added value:...
— Utility to monitor and post to the social networking site TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
. - Twitterrific Mobile — iPhone and iPod Touch version of Twitterrific, which won an Apple Design Award in 2008.
- Ramp Champ — A new twist on classic boardwalk/carnival games such as Skee ballSkee ballSkee ball is a common arcade game and one of the first redemption games. It is similar to bowling except it is played on an inclined lane and the player aims to get the ball to fall into a hole rather than knock down pins...
for the iPhoneIPhoneThe iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
and iPod TouchIPod TouchThe iPod Touch is a portable media player, personal digital assistant, handheld game console, and Wi-Fi mobile device designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The iPod Touch adds the multi-touch graphical user interface to the iPod line...
, developed with DS Media Labs. - Take Five - Program that fades paused music back in after being forgotten after a distraction.
- Flare - Photo editing program for adding effects to and editing pictures.
Discontinued:
- Pixadex — Icon management tool similar to iPhotoIPhotoiPhoto is a digital photograph manipulation software application developed by Apple Inc. and released with every Macintosh personal computer as part of the iLife suite of digital life management applications...
. Replaced by CandyBar. - IconDropper — Icon management utility for System 7System 7System 7 is the name of a Macintosh operating system introduced in 1991.System 7 may also refer to:* System 7 , a British dance/ambient band* System 7 , 1991 album* IBM System/7, a 1970s computer system...
, Mac OS 8Mac OS 8Mac OS 8 is an operating system that was released by Apple Computer on July 26, 1997. It represented the largest overhaul of the Mac OS since the release of System 7, some six years previously. It puts more emphasis on color than previous operating systems...
and Mac OS 9Mac OS 9Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's Mac OS before the launch of Mac OS X. Introduced on October 23, 1999, Apple positioned it as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever," highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as...
. Replaced by Pixadex. - iControl — Utility to change any system icon in Mac OS 8Mac OS 8Mac OS 8 is an operating system that was released by Apple Computer on July 26, 1997. It represented the largest overhaul of the Mac OS since the release of System 7, some six years previously. It puts more emphasis on color than previous operating systems...
& 9Mac OS 9Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's Mac OS before the launch of Mac OS X. Introduced on October 23, 1999, Apple positioned it as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever," highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as...
. Replaced by CandyBar.
CandyBar and Pixadex are maintained with Panic
Panic (company)
Panic is an Oregon-based American software company that specializes in shareware applications for Mac OS X. It was founded by Steven Frank and Cabel Sasser....
. xScope and Frenzic are maintained with ARTIS Software.
Alleged Patent Infringement
On May 31, 2011, LodsysLodsys
Lodsys, LLC is a company located in Marshall, Texas. The company has been accused of patent trolling. On May 13, 2011, it was reported that they had demanded that a number of iOS application developers obtain licenses from them. Apple has written to Lodsys stating that Apple's licenses protect...
asserted two of its four patents: U.S. Patent No. 7,620,565 ("the '565 patent") on a "customer-based design module" and U.S. Patent No. 7,222,078 ("the '078 patent") on "Methods and Systems for Gathering Information from Units of a Commodity Across a Network." against Iconfactory and 6 other developers.
See also
- Computer IconsIcon (computing)A computer icon is a pictogram displayed on a computer screen and used to navigate a computer system or mobile device. The icon itself is a small picture or symbol serving as a quick, intuitive representation of a software tool, function or a data file accessible on the system. It functions as an...
- Wikipedia:Icons
- IconBuilderIconBuilderIconBuilder is a popular plugin for Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements and Macromedia Fireworks for the editing and creation of computer icons created and used by The Iconfactory. It supports all icon sizes for both Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows...
- Icon Composer