by Justas | Feb 16, 2016 | Articles
You, as an icon designer, should not forget that nine times out of ten the icons you create are going to be used in some context rather then on their own. It could be an app, a website, a flyer, a book, a sign at the airport, etc. This means, the icon will make a huge contribution to the overall user experience. And great user experience is something you don’t want to underestimate. Your job is to make sure that your icons make it as pleasant and easy as possible for potential future users. So, that being said: What should you keep in mind when designing icons to assure great user experience? Does it convey the right message? Icons should communicate a very clear and easily understandable message. Make sure you avoid icons with conflicting meanings. Does it communicate with the target audience? If you don’t have the specific target audience, you have already lost. Every app, website or service has their target audience. You should create icons that will talk directly to that audience. Icons don’t have to be too sophisticated The icon’s meaning has to be as clear as possible. This means no hidden connotations, nothing too complicated that could mislead the user. It should take a couple of seconds to recognize and understand the icon. Design icons within the context If it is possible, always check how your icons looks like in the context they will be put in. Icons may look really nice and distinct on white background, the real question is though, is it as clear and good on a cluttered website or on...
by Justas | Feb 12, 2016 | Inspiration
Hey guys! How are you doing? Once again I present you collection of great icons and icon sets. It’s nice to see so many different styles and interesting approaches on icon design. I’m sure you will discover some great icon designers and awesome icon sets....
by Justas | Feb 5, 2016 | Inspiration
Hey guys! How are you doing? Once again I present you collection of great icons and icon sets. It’s nice to see so many different styles and interesting approaches on icon design. I’m sure you will discover some great icon designers and awesome icon sets....
by Justas | Feb 2, 2016 | Icon Tutorials
This week’s article will be really technical. But I believe it will provide a hell lot of value for beginners and those who don’t use this technique. I remember how massively it changed my workflow when I first started doing this. So how to you create Illustrator document for icon design? Where does it all begin? Creating your Illustrator document might seem like an insignificant thing, but don’t underestimate it. In the end, it determines your workflow and makes a real difference. In fact, it can take you from spending an hour exporting all your icons to just a few simple clicks. I’ve seen a lot of icon designers creating icons on one big artboard. I was doing it myself for a long time too. But this isn’t very efficient when you need to export your icons, for example, prepare .svg files for the developer or export separate icon files for a client. Eventually, after long hours of copying/pasting and exporting icons one by one, I started looking for a better solution. While experimenting with various methods, I have found the perfect one for me. The secret is, I switched from one big artboard to a lot of small icon-sized artboards. This was a game-changer for me! It is way more comfortable, because from the very beginning you get the predefined icon boundaries. Also, it saves a ton of time exporting the icons, as you can export to different files all your artboards just in a few clicks. Let’s do a quick walkthrough of how to create your multiple artboards Illustrator file and how to make it even more...
by Justas | Jan 29, 2016 | Inspiration
Hey guys! How are you doing? Once again I present you collection of great icons and icon sets. It’s nice to see so many different styles and interesting approaches on icon design. I’m sure you will discover some great icon designers and awesome icon sets....
