What if the folder’s icon gave you an idea of how often you use it? In real life, a wrinkle here and a scratch there lets you know that the folder wasn’t just purchased, but on our virtual desktops, they all look spiffy. Keith Lang takes a stab at this and a pretty good one too:
The icons provide nice visual clues but without adding color and other distracting elements like a badge. In other words, just about right. See the full article here.