In the early years of iPhone apps, Steve Sprang, the developer of Brushes, contacted me and told me the story behind a few of his app icons:
They’re the original Newton Undo/Redo buttons. Sprang wanted to pay homage to the Newton, so he used the icons in his now-famous app.
Here’s the original Newton version:
As you can see from the above still frame, the Newton icons remain in the new iPad version of Brushes (in the keynote, you can see them at the 42:30 mark).
Sprang developed apps for the Newton, too, back in the day – including Lathe, a popular 3D modeler.
It’s been gratifying to see Sprang’s success with his Brushes app, and great to see he still uses those Newton icons from way back when.
Translation: I needed a convincing “undo” icon that didn’t look like “Back”, so I just stole this one I remember from a long time ago.
Posted by Dave Kalinski on February 11th, 2010.
Art is theft, right?
I give Steve the benefit of the doubt: a Newton developer paying homage to his old stomping grounds. Call it “theft” – whatever. It’s a unique take, this day and age, on a plain, circular arrow.
Posted by davelawrence8 on February 12th, 2010.
Hi, so what happened to Steve Sprang? His twitter is dead for almost two or three years, his FB page isn’t updated. Is he ok?
Posted by Iskander on September 24th, 2013.