My philosophy has not really changed – I really try to develop symbols that are meaningful and memorable. I started designing monochrome icons using a 32 x 32 pixel icon editor that Andy Hertzfeld created. Subsequently I’ve been able to take advantage of more robust tools and higher screen resolution, and also design vector images in Illustrator. But design problems are solved by thinking about context and metaphor – not by tools.

Priceonomics (via 512 Pixels) has a profile of Susan Kare, who created the icons and fonts for the original Macintosh. The interview includes a lot of tidbits, original photographs of Kare’s sketchbook, and links to Andy Hertzfeld’s Folklore website. It’s a great read.