For the past few years, we have seen a significant portion of our data storage move to the cloud. When it comes to physical hard drives, spinning disk hard drives are rapidly being replaced by flash storage. Some would assert that storage icons have not aged particularly well given the circumstances.

Nevertheless, ever since the original OS X hard drive icons were designed, this category of icons has been a touchstone for icon design practitioners. Whether designing a custom application icon, a commercial disk image or making a custom icon to distinguish one's personal drives, hard drive icons have been a prime area for designers to display their skill in both technical execution and creativity.

This post is hardly exhaustive. I have selected only a fraction of the incredible icons that community members have designed over the years.

Drives Inspired by Apple Hardware