In digital electronics, analogue electronics and entertainment, the user interface may include media controls or player controls, to enact and change or adjust the process of video playback,

audio Audio most commonly refers to sound, as it is transmitted in signal form. It may also refer to: Sound *Audio signal, an electrical representation of sound *Audio frequency, a frequency in the audio spectrum *Digital audio, representation of sound ...

playback, and alike. These controls are commonly depicted as widely known symbols found in a multitude of products, exemplifying what is known as

dominant design Dominant design is a technology management concept introduced by James M. Utterback and William J. Abernathy in 1975, identifying key technological features that become a de facto standard. A dominant design is the one that wins the allegiance of t ...

Symbols

Media control symbols are commonly found on both software and physical media players, remote controls, and

multimedia keyboard The technology of computer keyboards includes many elements. Among the more important of these is the switch technology that they use. Computer alphanumeric keyboards typically have 80 to 110 durable switches, generally one for each key. The ch ...

s. Their application is described in ISO/IEC 18035. The main symbols date back to the 1960s, with the Pause symbol having reportedly been invented at Ampex during that decade for use on

reel-to-reel Reel-to-reel audio tape recording, also called open-reel recording, is magnetic tape audio recording in which the recording tape is spooled between reels. To prepare for use, the ''supply reel'' (or ''feed reel'') containing the tape is plac ...

audio recorder controls, due to the difficulty of translating the word "pause" into some languages used in foreign markets. The Pause symbol was designed as a combination of the existing square Stop symbol and the caesura, and was intended to evoke the concept of an interruption or "stutter stop".

In popular culture

Consumer products

The Play symbol is arguably the most widely used of the media control symbols. In many ways, this symbol has become synonymous with music culture and more broadly the digital download era. As such, there are now a multitude of items such as T-shirts, posters, and tattoos that feature this symbol. Similar cultural references can be observed with the

Power symbol A power symbol is a symbol indicating that a control activates or deactivates a particular device. Such a control may be a rocker switch, a toggle switch, a push-button, a virtual switch on a display screen, or some other user interface. The i ...

which is especially popular among video gamers and technology enthusiasts.

Branding

Media symbols can be found on an array of advertisements: from live music venues to streaming services. In 2012, Google rebranded its digital download store to Google Play, using the Play symbol in its logo. The Play symbol also serves as a logo for YouTube since 2017. Television station owners Morgan Murphy Media and TEGNA have begun to institute the Play symbol into the logos of their stations to further connect their websites to their over-the-air television presences.

Use on appliances and other mechanical devices

In recent years, there has been a proliferation of electronics that use media control symbols in order to represent the Run, Stop, and Pause functions. Likewise, user interface programing pertaining to these functions has also been influenced by that of media players. For example, some washers and dryers with an illuminated Play/pause button are programmed such that it stays lit when the appliance is running. A line of Philips pasta makers has the Play/pause button for controlling the pasta-making process.

References