Semanticons: Visual Metaphors as File Icons

Semanticons can enhance the representation of files by offering symbols that are both meaningful and easily distinguishable. The semantics of a file is estimated by parsing its name, location, and content to generate a 'context', which is used to query an image database. The resulting images are simplified by segmenting them, computing an importance value for each segmented region, and removing unimportant regions. The abstract look-and-feel of icons is achieved using non-photorealistic techniques for image stylization. We increase the effectiveness of the semanticons by compositing them with traditional and familiar interface icons. Two psychophysical studies using semanticons as stimuli demonstrate that semanticons decrease the time necessary to locate a file in a visual search task and enhance performance in a memory task.