by Justas | Sep 1, 2015 | Articles
I keep getting the same old question over and over again: Should I have my own icon style? And how to develop one then? Finding your own unique aesthetics is always a big struggle and a huge task that requires a lot of time and effort. But first things first, let’s start from the question – Do you even need to have your own style? Absolutely every project calls for a different style, and it depends on plenty of things like where the icons are going to be used, what the logo and brand style guidelines are, and many more. The trick here is that you need to know the basics of every style, but you can’t be equally as good at all of them. In fact, what you can be is equally mediocre at all. You can be average at a lot of things or great at few. It took me quite some time to understand this. Being a young maximalist I tried to be good at everything. It was ok, I was ok. However, it hadn’t been up until the day I niched down and started working in one particular style when the things moved on for me. Not only did I find so many details about it – my works improved drastically, and I got a lot more great clients to work with. My aesthetics is outline icons. I specialize in outline icons, I seem to know every little secret about creating perfect outline icons, but do I have my own signature style? Hard to say. I believe there is something people recognize me for, however,...
by Justas | Aug 27, 2015 | Articles
Yes, you’ve read that right. Be shameless – go find the icon set you really like and copy it, right after finishing this article.Copy till you can’t tell the difference between the two sets. “Why?”, you might ask. The answer’s easy – to learn. Copying the work of others is the best way to gain new skills, and one must have no shame to admit it. If you don’t publish it taking all the credits for yourself, of course. Copying to learn is the most natural trait of human behaviour. Newborn children copy their parents. They watch and follow every step trying to understand and then imitate what they’ve seen, day after day. Toddlers are amazing little students. It’s hard to imagine, how many information they actually absorb in their childhood. But in the artistic community, copying other designers’ work is still a dogma. Sure, everyone wants to be unique and have their own style. The problem is, however, that lots of designers want to develop their own style way too early. Before they even learned some basics and prepared the fundament for their future career. This leads to a lot of mediocre works. Having ambition is good. But before taking over the icon design world, copy the works of professionals to understand the techniques and master your skills. Only after that you may try to find your own unique style. There’s a catch though. You should not blindly copy the work of others. The key to success and the whole point of copying is to understand how everything works and why it’s made the way it’s made. You...
by Justas | Aug 25, 2015 | Articles
Howdy, guys! Here’s a little icebreaker before you read any further: Okay, as cheesy as this was, it showed that colours are the power. They can make the icon or break it in the blink of an eye. That is why choosing the right colours for your icons is so important – using proper palettes, you can transfer the message on a subconscious level. As everything in the icon design, choosing the perfect colours for each set has its own secrets. And I’m about to reveal some of them for you right now: Know The Context It all comes down to where your icons are going to be used. There are two main things to consider before you start: Where the icons will be used; Who are they aimed for. Here’s how it works: you’re creating icons for a mountain biking website. If it’s not the internet rookies who entered the website by mistake, all the content will be viewed by mountain bikers. Obviously. Google is a treasury of the images on mountain biking. Take a look at some of them, and you’ll start noticing certain colouring patterns. Use them for your own colour palette. Use The Brand Colours Do I even need to go into why you should stick to the existing brand/logo colour palette if your client has one? Just a reminder: icons play an enormous role in the brand identity and messages they deliver. If you feel that the brand colours are too pale and weak to speak as loud as you need your icons to, I would suggest you go for different shades of the already...
by Justas | Aug 16, 2015 | Articles
You often ask me if I sketch my icons first, and how important sketching in general is. Well, let me tell you without a shadow of a doubt – sketching is an essential part of icon design! Why so important? Here are 6 reasons why you should start sketching now: 1. Sketching is FUN! Let me tell you a secret: there are times when I think I love sketching more than the actual vectorising of my icons. It wasn’t always like that though. People tend to dislike things they don’t know or are not used to. When you first start sketching, it may feel unnatural and uncomfortable. But I promise, once you get through that first phase, you’ll fall in love with it! Trust me, you’ll see the benefits of sketching, and it will eventually become an inseparable part of your design process. You know, the hardest thing is always to start, right? 2. Sketching Brings Out The Best Idea If you head straight to the Illustrator with your first idea, you put yourself at a huge risk of getting stuck with it. As sad as it may sound, the first idea is not always the best one. Brainstorming icon ideas in your sketchbook is a great way to find the best suitable icon! Next refining and exploring different variations will make the icons perfect in the end. 3. Clients Love Sketches Oh yes, they do! I always try to share my working process with the clients. No wonder they love it – sketches help them understand how much effort I put into the project, and they appreciate the...
by Justas | Aug 16, 2015 | Articles
Okay, guys. It’s time for some serious icon style talk. Creating one beautiful icon is easy. Creating a few good looking icons isn’t that hard either. It’s making them cohesive that can knock you down. Completing a set of coherent icons is a hell of a challenge. In fact, one of the biggest out there in the icon-making world. But that’s why I’m here – to help you overcome them and make your way to the top. Keep reading to get 6 useful tips that will help you master your skills of creating exquisite cohesive icon sets. Fasten your seatbelts, space cadets, and let’s go! But before we take off – Why icons should be cohesive? Well, icon design is so much more than just graphic symbols representing real objects. It is a unique language where each icon is a word that has its own meaning. But it’s not until they are combined together when a proper conversation starts. That’s right, you use icons to communicate with people of the digital world just as you do talking to your mates in a real world. Using differently styled icons in one set is like mixing different languages in one sentence – even if you are lucky enough to be understood, people won’t take you seriously anyway. Make your icon set cohesive, and it will speak. Now, let’s get back on track. Here are the tips to create cohesive icon sets. 1. Stick To One Style Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? However, this is the key point if you want your icons pretty and consistent. Don’t start making any icons until you...
by Justas | Jul 14, 2015 | Articles
A lot of you keep asking what does my working process is like, so I’ve decided to dedicate an entire article to my icon designing routine. Finished and polished icons sets look gorgeous and may seem to be so easy to create. Not even close! As it is impossible to fit every little detail into just one article, I will continue sharing the insights of my working process with you as we go in the future. For now, here are some of my icon designing keynotes. 1. Ask Questions When working for a client, the first thing you should do is ask a lot of questions. That’s right, clarify what you don’t understand, otherwise you will get frustrated in the process of making icons for them. Create a questionnaire and ask your client to fill it in. It won’t take them more than 10 minutes, and you will get the idea of which path to take. It is very important to make your questionnaire clear and informative. I will cover up the ‘how to create a good questionnaire’ topic in one of my following newsletters, because it is so important, it needs a whole email. Let me just tell you that the most crucial thing is to never let your client dictate what symbols there should be. Even though “the customer is always right”, all you need is simple topics, and it is your job to cover them with the correct icons. It may be difficult to find that perfect metaphor, but it’s entirely a designer’s responsibility, not the client’s. 2. Find Perfect Metaphors So here you are – knowing...
