: New generation of 'Edit' icon that is not a pencil? I was jotting down some notes for a future project, sketching some simple icons for functionality etc, but all I could come up with for

@Kristi927

In a personal project (project management/to-do list) that I run locally I decided to design and use the infinity symbol ∞ (obviously a little larger a better looking). The decision was based on the concept that you can edit items an infinite amount of times, of course unless your code/project/design/application otherwise calls for logic that says otherwise.

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@Jennifer810

If you want to stick with simple symbols, such as +, -, x, why not use Δ? "Delta" for "Change", because when you Edit something, you're going to change it. Of course, I don't think I've ever seen this in use for this purpose before so people might not be used to it.

I suppose another option would be a stylized "E" (or maybe "ED"), for Edit. Not very original, but probably with clearer meaning than Δ.

Other less-common "Edit" symbols I've seen:


A lightning bolt - I guess because when you change something, you're "zapping" it. Of course, I first thought that the lightning bolt meant "Zap this thing out of existence!", so it didn't win any points for meaning. But it was a simple symbol to render.
A magic wand - Again, I think it was to imply doing something, in a generic sort of way. As a symbol, it was even less distinct looking than a pencil.

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@Eichhorn212

Some maybe fitting icons - depending on what you actually want to edit.


Pencil (the most general)
Gear (editing basic settings)
Text cursor (editing inline text blocks)
Scissors (edit-cropping images)
Pen (editing long text blocks)
Brush (edit-painting/coloring images)


Imho - in general - Edit tasks always are specific, so I'd go with a basic (well known) icon (pen/pencil) and combine it with an icon representing the specific task.


Pen + Table = Edit Table
Brush + Image = Re-Color image
Scissors + Image = Crop image
Gear + Paper Sheet = Edit settings
…

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@RJPawlick971

Iconography is typically context centric. What is the app? What are the other icons? Who's using the app? How big are the icons? What device are they being used on? What kind of content is being edited?

I think the pencil is a fine icon. Yes, it's not a literally accurate one, but has become a defacto standard over the decades and most folks understand what it represents.

UPDATE

If restricted to simple symbols, I think + makes perfect sense for add, - for remove. Keeping with that theme, I think @FrustratedWithFormsDesig is spot-on recommending Δ. Alas, as stated, it's not common, so would likely take you back to figuring out a more common option.

In the realm of mathematical symbols, there's lots of options:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mathematical_symbols
But, alas, like the delta, they are all rather obscure for the average user.

What if you thought of what an edit does? What do pencils do when editing? I'm thinking maybe a scribble or a strike-through or other some sort of proofreading mark, perhaps?
www.merriam-webster.com/mw/table/proofrea.htm

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