Visuality A Java bean may be visual or non-visual.
Visual beans are the most common kind.
However, beans may also be non-visual. Non-visual beans are useful for their functionality despite not having a visual appearance. For example, an adapter between two components is very useful but need not be displayed visually in the final application. Symbolism A Java bean can come with or without an icon. Some beans are associated with a symbolic image, an icon, others are assigned one by the system, e.g., a label.