And I stand corrected about the removal of the images on these switches. I was thinking of ones from other project cars where the white image is printed on top of the switch, which tend to wear off and are easily removed.
I actually had the same mistaken impression about the square buttons in my '85 Bertone. The white icons looked slightly flaky -- almost like cracking or peeling paint. I think it's possible that some non-opaque white paint might be painted on top of the white plastic, or the plastic is just aging and looking strangely paint-like as it gets older. When I bought the car none of the square button icons were lit up anymore. I didn't even realize they were supposed to light up, and was surprised to discover a light bulb holder inside each square switch, each with a burnt-out little bulb. I imagine them failing, one-by-one, as the previous three owners drove the car, and it's a fact that getting into the switches to replace the bulbs is fussy work, best dealt with by procrastinating. I've eliminated that problem altogether by replacing the bulbs with more fiber optic cables, just like in an older X1/9. Eventually I hope to start a new thread to share some ideas and pictures about that project.
Side note. On my '85 X the power window switches are located below the shifter, down at the bottom of the console (factory location). So they are sideways, and yes their function is not intuitive...especially since the switch can be installed in either direction. Although the ideograms are orientated for sideways mounting, like a lot of Fiat's controls they are not extremely intuitive either (in my opinion).
I agree. On the older-style switch the window up/down icon looks good, but they still needed to paint arrows on the rocker buttons so that we know which one to press. On the newer switches, the up-down arrows of the window icon matches the up-down placement of the rocker switch, and it would also match the up-down orientation of the real world
if the button is mounted vertically, instead of horizontally. I've considered modifying the button bracket of my '85 Bertone so that I could move the power window switches up to it. That would also require moving a bit of the wiring harness, and the two fiber optic cables. I'm only using 4 of the 8 squares on the button bracket, so there would be just enough room to accommodate the two vertical rectangular switches. Once again it's time to photoshop my Bertone button area to see what it might look like:
From a usability point of view I can't think of a better placement. I'm sure the newer switches are meant for a Fiat that has them in this vertical placement, because now the buttons, the icons, and the real world all mesh together beautifully!
Back before the career change into medicine I spent several years with my MBA in corporate management. While in the engineering department of a aerospace company I was involved in a ergonomics program for control panels (space shuttle design). Back then most controls were still manual or mechanical and things like the orientation of switches was a big part of the research. So I tend to notice how poorly many car dash controls are laid-out. Frankly the X's has a LOT of room for improvement.
I love how buttons and knobs, and other controls, are slowly evolving towards perfection. An early example of good man-machine interface design is the landing gear knob in an airplane. It now looks like a small rubber wheel, and if you pull it down the landing gear goes down. It doesn't get much more intuitive than that! Many modern cars have admirable power window switches. The Hondas that my brothers own have switches that you can push slightly down, or grab an edge, with a fingertip, and pull slightly up. Of course down makes the window go down, and up makes the window go up, just like one would hope. I'll eventually start another thread in the Nuova 500 area about how the 500e (probably the whole 500 family) somehow managed to get it backwards, and what the owner can do about it.
If we keep the X1/9 power window switches in their normal home, there's still another man-machine interface trick we can press into service -- touch! The newer switch has two pits or indents on the rocker switch, which are easy to feel, so you know where to press to rock the switch. You could add a small drop of some glue-like substance, such as Sugru, which would harden into a bump. You could even fill the whole pit with Sugru, and keep going until you've turned the pit into a rubberized bump instead. Your fingertip will feel the presence of the bump, and know that the window will go up when pressing that side. Many modern cars have power window switches designed like that. It's very intuitive. With the older style switch the indents are replaced with rocker bumps, so here we could Dremel or file down a small valley on the top of the downward button. Your fingertip will be able feel the slight depression in the middle of the "mountain", and know that the window will go down when pressing that side. Below is a photoshop of how these ideas might look:
Adding tactile feedback would allow you to operate the two window switches without looking at them. The switches for the two windows are far enough apart, and there are nearby surfaces and edges that can give your hands and fingers clues that you've found the switch you want. Then simply feel for the bump or indent, and your finger can find the correct button to press for up or down, all without looking at the switches.
I still think the general trend is upwards, but it's true that there are plenty of examples of de-evolution in design, too. I still remember when Microsoft introduced Windows XP. When I saw the need to click a Start button before we could click a Shut Down button I thought to myself, "Are you kidding me?" and now, as a computer tech, I'm totally nostalgic about it! In some cases we get used to the abuse. 
