An icon of a desk calendar. An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. An icon of a paper envelope. An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. An icon ...

Iris Apfel, a businesswoman, interior designer and fashion icon known for her eccentric style, who was also the subject of Albert Maysles’ 2014 documentary Iris, has died. She was 102.

What’s interesting is how minimal, even abstract, many of these icons have become. Hyper-literal metaphor used to be the cardinal rule of icon design.In the 80s, the icon for the trash folder on ...