Overview
ISO/IEC 11581-7:2024 - Information technology - User interface icons - Part 7: Icons for setting interaction modes - defines requirements and guidance for icons used to configure interaction modes across devices and services. The standard specifies two icon sets:
- Global (generic) icons that indicate product or service constraints considered (e.g., accessibility, vision, hearing, manipulation, cognition).
- Specific icons for particular functions, presets and input/output settings.
Each icon entry in the standard is illustrated with a glyph, name, description and function, and covers visual, auditory (earcon) and tactile (tacton) modalities.
Key technical topics and requirements
- Scope and conformance: Icons for setting interaction modes must meet the requirements in Clause 5 to be conformant (Clause 4).
- Icon taxonomy: Distinguishes global accessibility indicators from more specific usage- and content-related icons.
- Multimodal representation: Visual icons should have matching earcons and tactons where applicable to ensure cross‑modal accessibility.
- Design rules for generic icons:
- Prefer circular form.
- Deep blue background without gradient is recommended; alternatives permitted (black background/white glyph, white background/deep blue glyph).
- Flat design only - no shadows, depth effects, or strikethroughs.
- Definitions: Clear terms such as icon (visual icon), earcon (auditory icon) and tacton (tactile icon) are provided to ensure consistent implementation.
- Icon functions and states: Each icon entry includes intended user function (e.g., indicate availability of accessibility features) and label/alt text guidance.
Practical applications and who uses this standard
- UX/UI designers and iconographers: To create consistent, usable icons for accessibility and interaction-mode settings.
- Product designers and device manufacturers: To label packaging, settings menus and hardware for accessibility compliance and discoverability.
- Software developers and system integrators: To implement icon sets across apps, embedded systems and multi-device ecosystems.
- Accessibility specialists and QA teams: To verify that icons communicate available interaction modes (vision, hearing, tactile, cognitive, manipulation) and that multimodal cues are provided.
Use cases include system settings menus, assistive-technology indicators, preset usage modes (e.g., low-vision, hands-free), and input/output configuration (display, vibration, vocalization).
Related standards
Keywords: ISO/IEC 11581-7:2024, user interface icons, interaction modes, accessibility icons, icon design rules, earcon, tacton, multimodal iconography, UX accessibility standard.
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