What does the Custom White-Balance *icon* represent?

Question

I already know what White Balance is (at least enough to get by!) I already know what Custom White Balance is.
All of the pre-configured White Balance options on the Canon DSLRs have meaningful icons - pictures of the sun, clouds, tungsten and fluoro lights, etc.
But the Custom White Balance icon is a mystery to me. It is a round-corners black rectangle upon two white triangles. (Here's a picture here from this site.)

My idle thought after some late-night experimentation with white-balance is: What are these shapes supposed to represent?
[Originally I thought this was just Canon, but answers below indicate other brands use it too, including Pentax and Olympus. I checked quickly before originally posting, and Nikon have a different name for it (Preset), and no icon in the manual I checked.]

André Carregal · Accepted Answer

Since the other white balance symbols are so literal, I'd say that the Custom one could be related to the activities involved in setting the custom white balance.

You need to point a camera somewhere and register what is supposedly your reference point. Therefore the rectangle in the middle of the icon, supposedly representing the act of acquiring a color reference.
You can afterwards calibrate your color balance using two axes (Blue/Amber and Magenta/Green), therefore the two triangles in the bottom.

My 2c :o)

AJ Finch · Answer

When I look at it, I see a person - head is the rounded rectangle, shoulders are the 2 triangles. I think it's the photographer, so the implication is that the photographer is setting whatever s/he wants ??

Answered by AJ Finch on August 31, 2021

HiredMind · Answer

To me, it looks like a person sitting for a portrait shot, with two lights in front of him/her - as viewed from the top.

(As a software developer I often have to design simple icons.  It's one of the hardest jobs I have.  I mean, how does one convey the word "Re-synthesize" or "Writeback Cache" in a 32x32 pixel icon?  No idea.)

mattdm · Answer

It's not just Canon. Pentax's looks similar, although the rectangle doesn't have rounded corners and is more like a screen (or photo print with borders). And I've seen it in other brands too, although I can't find an example offhand. So, while I can't say what it means, I can at least confirm that it's widespread, and that the center object probably isn't meant to indicate a person.

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sebastien.b · Answer

To me the center rectangle represents the white balance itself, and the small triangles are "cursors: (or sliders) that you would move to say: "here is exactly where I want my custom balance to be, in between these 2 values". Cursors similar to what you have in a caliper.

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Matt Grum · Answer

It's probably meant to represent some piece of equipment that no longer exists:

http://picol.org/images/icons/files/png/32/floppy_disk_32.png

I wonder how long it will be before people don't know what this icon represents!

akaru · Answer

It's white balance, so the white rectangle represent "white" while the two triangles represent a fulcrum, the "white" being "balanced" between them, like a see-saw.

patrick fennell · Answer

The triangles represent the orange and blue shifts of the 3000k and 9000k light, and the rectangle represents the neutral white in between.

CinemaFoto · Answer

As I know, the WB became critical in Multicamera TV studios to equalize all studio's cameras to same color settings, so the cut (switch between cameras) will be smooth on the screen. So, two triangles are two camera lenses that point to the white board before custom WB setting performs.

Answered by CinemaFoto on August 31, 2021

What does the Custom White-Balance icon represent?

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