Computer geeks like to claim that they use icons in the interfaces these days instead of words because “icons are universal.”

The problem is that icons are not universal. Very much not. When I’ve done intensive tech support in the past most users had no idea what 99% of icons meant, while they could almost always pick out key words like “Print” and “Save.”

The real problem is laziness and management attempting to save money by avoiding translation of an interface into many languages.

Icons are only universal among the 1-2% of very tech-savvy users out there.

For others, they are almost all indecipherable and probably always will be.

This “icons are universal” claptrap is one of the biggest myths in UX, and a persistent one at that, because it allows executives to skimp on good design.