Unsung design heroes like Larry Tesler, Susan Kare, and Douglas Engelbart created fundamental UI elements. Corporations often prefer to keep their employees anonymous, leaving great product work largely unrecognized. While the best designs usually go unnoticed, the design narrative tends to spotlight individuals over teams. Still, it's important to seek inspiration from those who have tackled similar challenges and examine their strategies.
Susan Kare, the original icon designer for the 1980s Mac, is being celebrated in macOS Sequoia with a screensaver and wallpaper. The new 'Macintosh' wallpaper dramatically enlarges her famous icons. It features animated elements like the clicking cursor and the dreaded floppy disk with a question mark. Available in various colors, the nostalgic tribute also includes Kare's iconic bomb icon and 'the crazy ones' text from Apple's Think Different ad.