Embracing Minimalism

Minimalism is a design philosophy that has gained immense popularity due to its clean, uncluttered and ultra-consistent approach. The Thin icon collection perfectly embodies this philosophy with its sleek and refined icons. By removing unnecessary details, these icons communicate concepts with utmost clarity, making them ideal for modern interfaces where simplicity is key.

The icons strike the perfect balance between visual appeal and functionality. These icons not only look elegant but also serve their purpose effectively, allowing users to intuitively understand their meaning and purpose.

A Comprehensive Library

Picons’ Thin Icon Collection offers an extensive library of icons that cover a wide range of categories. From business and technology to lifestyle and travel, designers can find suitable icons for virtually any design project. The collection ensures that designers have access to versatile, high-quality icons that seamlessly integrate into various digital products, including websites, web apps, and mobile apps.

Scalable Vector Icons

One of the standout features of the Picons.me icons in general is that each icon is available as a scalable vector graphic (SVG). Scalable vector icons ensure that designers can use them across your personal graphic software (Figma, Photoshop, Illustrator, Sketch…) and various screen resolutions without losing image quality. This flexibility is crucial in responsive design, where icons need to adapt to different devices and sizes.

Additionally, the vector format enables designers to customize icons to match their project’s color scheme and design language, ensuring a harmonious and consistent visual experience.

Perfect for Modern UI/UX Design

User interfaces today demand a delicate blend of aesthetics and functionality. The Picons.me icons are tailor-made for modern UI/UX design, offering icons that resonate with contemporary design trends. Their understated elegance and precision make them a preferred choice for designers seeking a minimalist, yet impactful, visual language.

The Picons Thin Icon Collection stands as a testament to the power of simplicity in design. With its minimalist approach, comprehensive library, and vector scalability, these icons elevate design projects to new heights of elegance and clarity. Picons.me continues to be a reliable resource for designers seeking high-quality icons that strike the perfect balance between aesthetics and functionality.

The post Discovering Elegance and Clarity: The Picons Thin Icon Collection appeared first on Picons Blog.

Enhancing Visual Communication
Icons serve as a powerful visual language that transcends linguistic barriers. They allow designers to communicate ideas and concepts quickly and efficiently. By utilizing universally recognized symbols, icons aid in conveying information at a glance. Users can instantly understand the purpose and functionality associated with an icon, leading to a smoother and more intuitive user experience.

Picons is an extensive collection of icons, covering various categories such as technology, business, finance, and more. With their well-crafted and visually appealing icons, we provide designers with the tools to effectively communicate ideas, making interactions more intuitive and engaging.

Streamlining Navigation and Usability
Icons act as visual signposts, guiding users through interfaces and simplifying complex interactions. By representing actions, features, and functionalities through icons, designers reduce cognitive load and create a more user-friendly experience. Well-designed icons can replace lengthy text labels, conserving valuable screen space and promoting a cleaner, streamlined interface.

Our icon library offers a wide selection of icons suitable for different purposes. Whether it’s a mobile app, website, or web app, designers can find icons that align with their design aesthetics and enhance the usability of their digital products. All the icons are designed with clarity and simplicity in mind, ensuring seamless navigation and efficient user interactions.

Aesthetics and Brand Consistency
Icons play a significant role in defining the visual identity of a digital product. They contribute to the overall aesthetics and brand consistency, making an interface visually appealing and recognizable. Consistent iconography across a website, web app, or mobile app creates a cohesive and memorable user experience, reinforcing the brand’s image in the user’s mind.

We have a wide range of customizable icons, allowing designers to match the iconography with their brand’s style and personality. By incorporating icons into their designs, designers can achieve a cohesive visual language that aligns with their brand guidelines, enhancing recognition and fostering a stronger connection with users.

Icons are an essential element of graphic user interfaces, playing a crucial role in enhancing user experiences. Their ability to convey meaning, streamline navigation, and contribute to aesthetics and brand consistency makes them indispensable in modern design practices. Picons stands out as a valuable resource, providing designers with a diverse selection of high-quality icons to elevate their designs. By leveraging the power of icons, designers can create intuitive, visually appealing interfaces that leave a lasting impression on users.

The post The significance of icons in graphic user interfaces (GUIs) and user experience (UX) appeared first on Picons Blog.

We started with tap bar navigation icons for the mobile app…

and experimented with mobile app icons and other graphics.

The collaboration has been very successful and over the last 2 years, we created a comprehensive icon system for their online presence.

With more than 200 icons (and counting), the new icon system quickly became a valuable corporate asset.

We took a super sleek and simple solution for the icon system – outlined icons, consistent line weight and curved edges. The icons reflect a friendly visual voice, just like Sephora, and the Picons Thin icon collection.

You can find the icons across the Sephora website.

The post Custom Icon System for Sephora appeared first on Picons Blog.

I’m working on two new sets: 1/ the third edition of Picons Thin with additional icons and 2/ a new and completely redesigned Picons Basic icon set. It’s been 11 years (!) since I created my first icons and I’ve learned a lot in the past years. I guess it’s time to finally make a new comprehensive set (new metaphors and consistent icon grid).

But, let’s talk about the next release of Picons Thin first. Picons Thin is a well known and popular icon set, using just consistent thin lines (1 pixel on a 24-pixel grid). This outlined icon style was introduced in 2013, right after Apple showed off the new iOS 7 together with some fresh icons that were thin and just outlined. The new style took over ridiculously fast and found its way into all popular desktop apps and websites.

Until the new Thin edition is completed, you can already see and use some new icons. For now they are only available via Iconfinder.

GDPR Data Privacy

11 icons – Download

This icon set covers the following symbols & metaphors: GDPR, law, rules, privacy, data storage, personal data, secure data, privacy agreement, consent, law agreements.

Smart Home Automation (40 icons)

40 icons – Download

This icon set covers the following symbols & metaphors: lights, ceiling lights, lightbulb, front door, garage door, window covering, keypad, fingerprint, door lock, security system, heating, cooling, climate, air conditioning, fan, ventilation, solar power, volume, temperature, speakers, video cameras, technician, leaving/coming home, sprinkler, watering socket.

Electronic parts & Components

15 icons – Download

This icon set covers the following symbols & metaphors: Arduino, MCU, board, speaker, lab, measurement, wave, robot, diode, development, flashing, esp, chip, microchip, power, button, module, dinamo, motor, oscilloscope, sensor, battery, wi-fi, RFID antenna.

Animals, Farming, Cattle

15 icons – Download

This icon set covers the following symbols & metaphors: horse, cow, cattle, sheep, goat, dog, cat, farmer, tractor, DNA genetics, cattle auction, animal transport, butcher.

Coronavirus pandemic

20 icons – Download

This icon set covers the following symbols & metaphors: coronavirus, virus, avoid handshakes, avoid gatherings, face mask (male, female), sanitizer, disinfection, hand disposer, clean hands, washing hands, vaccine, test, lab results (positive, negative), keep distance (1 m), fever, high temperature, cough, temperature test.

The post New icons for the ‘Picons Thin’ icon collection appeared first on Picons Blog.

Beside crafting new stock icons and custom add-on icons compatible to existing Picons icon collections, such as Basic & Thin, I also design individual icon systems adapting to the client’s brand.

Few years ago, I had the opportunity to create a brand-new icon system for Etihad Airways. For those not familiar with, Etihad Airways is the national airline of the United Arab Emirates with its home in Abu Dhabi.

This was a great challenge and pleasure for me, not just because I was tasked to design 200+ custom icons, but because I could craft a unique icon system for a global audience. Designing airline/airport icons might just be the dream of every (icon) designer out there.

At the end, and over a period of 3 years, we did create more than 400 icons.

I. Feeling the Brand

Designing an individual icon system starts with learning the client’s brief and brand guidelines. The icons, as a part of the corporate identity, play an important role in presenting a consistent image of a powerful and successful brand.

A central role in Etihad’s identity plays the Facets of Abu Dhabi.

The Facet exists in the Etihad wordmark and is drawn from the traditional Islamic design and modern Arabian architecture producing an effect that is precise and aesthetically pleasing. This pattern is found to appear consistently across our home Abu Dhabi as an architectural feature and design pattern, thus subtly adding to a seamless experience.

From the Etihad Brand Guidelines, 2016

II. Exploring the Icon Style

We tried 3 different design approaches, to figure out which one would work the best: outline, glyph and a combination of both.

The client chose to go on with outlines. The final icon style has adopted the combination of rounded and sharp corners. All icons share the line strength of 1 pixel. And there is the golden facet.

The Facet
When creating an individual icon system for a brand, you just need to implement something unique into them. Icons need to be obvious, that’s why great icons are using well-known metaphors. Although when speaking of the icon style, we don’t want icons to look too generic or special, just for the sake of being special. That’s where the Facet plays an important role. 

Each icon in the system includes a little golden Facet. It is connecting the icons to the brand and let the icons stand out from your everyday stock icons.

III. Defining an Icon System

The Construction
On of the first tasks, after figuring out the icon style, is defining a grid. It is important that the icons sit on the pixel so they are always crisp and sharp (pixel-perfect).

Although pixel-perfect plays no role in print and when used on retina displays, it’s still considered as the best practice for crafting large icon systems.

IV. Showcases

Disclaimer: Images courtesy of Etihad Airways. 

The post The New Etihad Airways Icon System by Picons appeared first on Picons Blog.

8 years ago…

In Aug 2010, I released my first icon set called Morphix Pictograms. It started as an experiment containing my personal collection of 140 vector icons, I have used for designing websites and apps. There was no big icon market back then and probably just few designers focusing on icons, but I believed there must be a lot of designers with the need for a consistent icon set they could use in their projects. I tried to spread the word and found few enthusiasts that liked the icons. One of them was Veerle Pieters, who bought and mentioned them in her RSS feed.

Veerle’s mention has skyrocket the awareness and gave me the necessary push to invest more time into icons. I practiced a lot and added more and more icons to the collection. The first Picons Basic collection was born under the new brand Picons.me.

In 2013, Apple’s iOS 7 design revolution has instantly triggered a surge for outlined icons. The first Picons Thin collection with 500 icons became a great hit in the design community. The collection has been extended twice since then, and is now containing 1700+ outlined icons.

It is very flattering when prominent design teams around the world start using your icons, but I’m especially thankful for all the freelance designers and one-man-band developers that have bought and used Picons since then. Thank you!

Picons is still there, with a clear goal to become the gold standard for every designers & developers toolkit. Last year we released Picons BasiColor and few months ago a Picons Thin update with 660 new icons. There is a new icon set in the works – a complete redesign of the Basic collection.

Thank you for your support and stay tuned for new icons!

– Gasper

The post Picons turned 8 appeared first on Picons Blog.

As already mentioned in the previous post, this update took us more than 2 years. And now it’s ready.

Picons Thin 2 is an extension to the original Picons Thin outline icon set with 663 new icons, sorted into 30 categories: Charts & Analytics, Business, Money & Finance 2, eCommerce, Delivery, Badges, Maps & Navigation 2, Movies 2, Media Controls, Essentials 2, Devices, Architecture & Construction, Print & Papers, School & Learning, Relationship, Pregnancy & Baby, Leisure & Fun 2, Winter Holidays, Food & Cooking 2, Home & Living 2, Wellness & Beauty, SEO & Marketing, Users & People 2, Communication & Messaging 2, Hierarchy, Files & Documents 2, Network & Sharing 2, GUI elements 2, Office, Law Enforcement, and Touch Gestures 2.

Click here for a full icon set preview

The icon set comes with all the usual vector source files (AI, EPS and PDF), a Sketch file, a Photoshop file (PSD) with icons as Custom Shapes, a special CSH file for importing icons into your Custom Shape toolbar, and each icon as transparent a PNG (available in 6 different sizes: 24, 48, 72, 96, 120 and 144 pixels). We are also including an Iconjar archive, SVG files so you can create your own individual icon font, and EMF files to be used in Microsoft Office.

Download Picons Thin 2

The post New: Picons Thin 2 – an update to the most popular outline icon set appeared first on Picons Blog.

Obviously the icons weren’t only useful for iOS. The new icon trend took over and outline icons became a standard in UI design for the past years. Not surprisingly, Picons Thin has been our best-selling icon set, especially after the immense update in 2015, when we redesigned the complete set and extended it with 500+ new icons.

Now it’s time to announce Picons Thin 2.

For the past 2 years, we have been working hard on a major extension to Picons Thin. We are very lucky to have a great community of designers giving us a lot of feedback and request for new icons. We were listening to your suggestions and made 660+ new icons, sorted into 30 categories.

The themes we cover are: Charts & Analytics, Business, Money & Finance 2, eCommerce, Delivery, Badges, Maps & Navigation 2, Movies 2, Media Controls, Essentials 2, Devices, Architecture & Construction, Print & Papers, School & Learning, Relationship, Pregnancy & Baby, Leisure & Fun 2, Winter Holidays, Food & Cooking 2, Home & Living 2, Wellness & Beauty, SEO & Marketing, Users & People 2, Communication & Messaging 2, Hierarchy, Files & Documents 2, Network & Sharing 2, GUI elements 2, Office, Law Enforcement, and Touch Gestures 2.

Here is a sneak & peek of just few icons:

Considering the immense amount of work put into the extension, we’re delivering it as a new stand-alone icon set – part 2. As always, buyers of Picons Thin will get a very special upgrade option for a significantly reduced price.

Right now, we’re making the “last mile” and preparing all the exports. The icon set will come with all the usual vector source files (AI, EPS and PDF), a Sketch file, a Photoshop file (PSD) with icons as Custom Shapes, a special CSH file for importing icons into your Custom Shape toolbar, and each icon as transparent a PNG (available in 6 different sizes: 24, 48, 72, 96, 120 and 144 pixels). We are also including an Iconjar archive, SVG files so you can create your own individual icon font, and EMF files to be used in Microsoft Office.

If you are already a customer of Picons (any icon set) you will be automatically notified by email on the release day. For others, you are welcome to subscribe to our newsletter.

Stay tuned!

The post Soon: Picons Thin 2 extension with 660+ brand new icons appeared first on Picons Blog.

With the release of Illustrator CC 2015.3 in June 2016, Adobe made promising steps to help icon designers exporting icon sets much easier. The new ‘Export for Screens’ feature you can export Artboards and Assets (a group of vector objects – in our case icons) to multiple sizes and formats with just a click. But there is a caveat with Artboards you probably heard about. Illustrator allows you to create only 100 artboards per single document. So, how to export them?

Click here to read the full article I wrote for Iconfinder’s Blog.

The post How to export vector icons to multiple sizes and formats in Adobe Illustrator? appeared first on Picons Blog.

BasiColor is a brand new, colorful, trendy & minimalistic icon set. Each icon is designed to precision on a grid, which ensures 100% consistency. Perfect for Websites, Apps, iOS and Android.

The 274 icons are organized into categories (see the full preview).

The perfect icons
100% scalable, high-quality icons, each created with great passion and expertise, to meet the highest design standards for your next project.

Customizable
We use super trendy and balanced colors. And you can easily change the color to fully fit your UI or brand guidelines.

Easy to search for
With Iconjar all your Picons icon sets will be organized by category, tagged, and the right icon is always at your fingertips.

What’s included in the icon set?

• .AI, .EPS, .PDF vector files
• .PSD Adobe Photoshop file with icons as vector Smart Objects
• .Sketch file
• .PNG‘s: 24px, 48px, 72px, 96px, 120px, 144px
• .SVG files for using on websites or making your custom web font
• .EMF Windows Enhanced Metafiles for Microsoft Office (how to use them?)
• .iconjar Searchable Iconjar archive (read more)

Special offer for blog readers

We are giving you a coupon code to get 15% off the regular price ($30). You can get the new Picons BasiColor for only $25.50 (coupon code: “15forbloggers”).

Get the icons now (-15% discount activated)

The post New Colorful Icons for Your Next Project appeared first on Picons Blog.