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Twilah924

: Icon to indicate a span of time I have a mobile app interface with a list of dates and notes: Sep 5 - No longer contagious Sep 6 - Can return to school ... Sep 9 - Back to normal Right

@Twilah924

Posted in: #Icon #InformationDesign #InformationGraphics #InterfaceDesign

I have a mobile app interface with a list of dates and notes:


Sep 5 - No longer contagious
Sep 6 - Can return to school
...
Sep 9 - Back to normal


Right now I am using an ellipsis to indicate a gap in days, or time passing between notes. The problem I'm seeing is that this is commonly used to indicate that the user can tap for "more" info, and users are trying to do this. I see problems with other icons as well:


Clock: indicates time itself, not a span of time
Hourglass: indicates waiting


What can I use to illustrate the passage of a few days time?

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@Kaufman565

Edit: Re-reading this, particularly that the problem is users trying to tap for more info - any icon is likely to look like a button that can be pressed. Icons almost by definition are intended to attract attention and look like something functional: whereas you want something that looks like background.

So given that, I think it has to look like a joining line - background and structure, not foreground. How about something like

[NOTE]---|-|---[NOTE]---|---[NOTE]---|-|-|-|-|---[NOTE]


...but where the vertical lines (one for each day passed) are very thin and close together so there's not too big a gap?

The principle behind this suggestion is: to carry information but not look like a button or interaction point, it has to carry information while looking like part of the background structure - not foreground. It has to be something people glance past, not something people are drawn to look at directly.



Original answer: if it was okay for it to look like an icon (therefore, potentially like a button)...

Since you're specifically looking at days, there are two common conventions you can use:


Something often used in films, TV, comics etc to signify passing days: crossing off days on a calendar, mixed with...
...that common, familiar type of calendar icon (taken from the Noun Project):




...but of course you need to make it clear that it's the passing of days that is the focus, not the calendar itself. You could draw a calendar so the calendar itself is clearly recognisable but background, and crossed off days are the foreground, something like this:



Depending on how much space you have, you could potentially have different icons for smaller and larger amounts of time passing:



...but don't get carried away! Keep it simple.

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@BetL875

Something like this maybe?



or this



or this



the "Timer" icon may also reflect time span



Just the ideas...

By the way, I would not recommend to indicate the exact amount of time by the icon, like: 1h, 1d, 2d, etc. The graphics should only represent the meaning, like "passed time".

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@Samaraweera207

![you can try this type or stop clock type or Bell like icon..but present it like notclickable..i will come under the way u presented...

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