

Adobe Photoshop icons explained - new layer

One of the great things about using Adobe software is that once you recognize a function of an icon in Photoshop, you will recognize it in Illustrator, InDesign, etc. Most of the my students have been artists, and artists are visual people, and Adobe is especially good for visual people. There is no reason to memorize the names of things, just look at the pictures. One of the most common is used to represent *new*, as in new document, or, in this case, new layer.

Once you learn to recognize an icon, and have an idea what it does, it really doesn't matter what it looks like. But I was always inquisitive, and if you're wondering what this icon is trying to represent, here it is -

This is a piece of paper, with a turned corner (called a dog-ear) over another piece of paper. The dog-ear icon has been around for a long time to represent a piece of paper. Yes, all of these functions are available  by using a text menu, and some of my students are frustrated that I don't focus on the text menu, or the names of things. This is simply because artists don't work that way. When I watch someone in Photoshop, or Illustrator, I watch how they work. If someday you are interviewed for a job, and someone watches you, they will see if you use the text menus or the icons. Artists use icons.