Icon design is a part of the creative process in building engaging, user-friendly digital experiences. For websites, mobile applications, or software, well-designed icons can help improve usability and strengthen the brand identity. Still, creating effective icons is not as easy as it sounds. Even experienced designers can commit to common mistakes that compromise functionality and aesthetic appeal.
In this article, we are going to outline some of the most common mistakes in icon design and give practical tips on how to avoid them. We also highlight how Iconfair can assist you in having access to the best icons which are crafted to be user-friendly and consistent.
1. Overcomplicating the Design
Why it’s a Problem:
One of the most common mistakes when designing icons is overcomplicating the design. In the process of creating icons, one can easily go overboard and add unnecessary details, which would make the icon cluttered and harder to recognize at smaller sizes. Icons are meant to be simple, clear, and instantly recognizable, but an overly detailed design can make them confusing and difficult for users to interpret.
Icons are commonly used at tiny sizes, such as in the navigation bars or app menus. If the design contains too many detailed elements, they will get lost when miniaturized and cause a lousy user experience.
How to Avoid It:
– Simplify: Try to focus on the core idea of the icon and remove any unnecessary elements. An icon should represent an idea or object in the most minimal way possible, without losing clarity.
– Test Icon Visibility: Test your icons at small sizes and ensure that they remain clear and legible. This is especially important for mobile design, where screen space is limited.
– Clear Shapes and Simple Lines: Start with obvious clear geometric shapes, strong lines, and defined forms.
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Ensure that the design can easily be recognised in any size. Here, Iconfair features a comprehensive list of minimalist icons which will remain distinct even at a small size. Overall, the clean simple shapes along with intuitive designs ensure functionality coupled with great aesthetics.
2. Lack of Consistency in Icons
Why it’s an issue:
Consistency is the key when designing a set of icons for a digital platform. Each icon should feel like part of a cohesive visual language, contributing to a unified user experience. If icons within the same set have differing visual styles—such as different stroke weights, color schemes, or proportions—it can disrupt the harmony of the interface and confuse users.
For instance, it may feature detailed gradients for some icons but the rest with plain colors. Similarly, an icon may be represented with sharp edges while another rounded. In the end, inconsistency leads to an unprofessional appearance.
Avoiding It
– Define a Style Guide: Before starting the design process, define clear rules for your icon set. Determine the color palette, stroke weight, corner radius, and other visual elements to ensure all icons have a cohesive look.
– Use Consistent Proportions: Ensure that the icons within the set follow similar proportions, ensuring they feel visually balanced and harmonious when displayed together.
– Design with Flexibility: While it’s important to maintain consistency, ensure your icons are versatile enough to adapt to different contexts and screen sizes. This way, they can be used across various digital platforms while retaining their consistency.
At Iconfair, you’ll find professionally designed icon sets that maintain consistency in style, ensuring a unified and aesthetically pleasing experience across your platform.
3. Not Considering Scalability
Why it’s a Problem:
Scalability is one of the critical aspects in designing icons. Icons must be functional across different screen sizes, from mobile devices with small screens to large desktop monitors. If an icon isn’t designed with scalability in mind, it may lose its visual clarity or impact when resized.
The icons are too complex and thus not readable when downscaled. Those with very few details will be too simple to read when scaled up. One has to balance simplicity with visual depth.
How to Avoid It:
– Vector Format Design: Icons are designed in vector graphics, which means they can be scaled up or down without losing quality. This way, your icons will always appear sharp and clear, regardless of size.
– Test at Various Sizes: Test how your icons look at different sizes. It is very important that icons remain legible and recognizable even when they are displayed at smaller dimensions.
– Reduce Complexity for Smaller Sizes: Some of the finer details are lost when downsizing. Remove these details while keeping the core message of the icon intact and still effective in smaller sizes.
Iconfair Scalable vector-based icons can be resized for any application, making them clear and consistent across all screen sizes and devices.
4. Using Ambiguous or Unclear Symbols
Why it’s a Problem:
An icon should be able to communicate its meaning immediately. Using obscure symbols that are difficult to understand frustrates users and causes them to be lost in the web. For instance, an icon that is way too abstract or unfamiliar requires a user to guess what it means. This is a bad user experience.
For example, an icon for “settings” should be known universally as a gear or wrench symbol. If an abstract symbol does not have any obvious association with “settings,” navigation might become unreasonably difficult.
How to Avoid It
– Follow Established Conventions: Where feasible, use well-known symbols that users can readily recognize. Standard icons such as the trash can for delete, the magnifying glass for search, or the hamburger menu for navigation are all universally understood.
– Test with Real Users: Conduct usability testing to ensure that your icons are easily understood by your target audience. Observe whether users can identify the icon’s meaning without additional context.
– Cultural Differences: Icon meaning is quite diverse with a given culture or region. Avoid symbols that would easily be misunderstood in another part of the world.
5. Lack of Accessibility
Why it is an Issue:
An important aspect that is often overlooked in icon design is accessibility. Icons should be designed with all users in mind, including people with visual impairments or other disabilities. Relying on color alone or intricate patterns makes icons hard to perceive for those with color blindness or low vision.
Ignoring accessibility not only deprives a large number of users but also stands as a potential danger to your reputation and user satisfaction.
How to Avoid It:
– High Contrast: Ensure there is high contrast between the icon and the background. This means in case the user has visual impairments, the icon is clearly distinguishable from the background.
– Provide Text Labels: Whenever possible, an icon should come with text labels or tooltips, so that users will know what an icon means, even if they are not able to see the icon clearly.
Test for Color Blindness Use color simulation tools to show how your icons will appear to people who suffer from various types of color blindness, and make adjustments according to these color choices.
– Icon Size: Icons should be large enough to be clicked or tapped comfortably, especially on mobile devices.
At Iconfair, we consider accessibility, offering icons that are designed with high contrast and clarity, ensuring they are visible and usable for everyone.
6. Ignoring Context and Platform Requirements
Why it’s a Problem:
Icons are often used for different purposes depending on the context and platform. For example, an icon in a mobile app may be bigger because the user will have to navigate it with their touch while an icon in a web page has to fit different screen sizes and resolutions. If these facts are overlooked, this could result in icons not performing well across different platforms or use cases.
Preventing It:
– Design for Multiple Platforms: Consider where your icons will be used. An icon might need to be optimized for a website, a mobile app, or a smartwatch. Each platform may have different requirements in terms of size, style, and interaction.
– Follow the Platform Guidelines: Every platform has its design guidelines for icons. Observe each of these requirements to integrate well with their operating systems.
– Adjust Icons Depending on the Context: Icons have to be context-aware and should adapt according to the needs of the user. For instance, the icon may need to change depending on whether the system uses light or dark mode.
Icon design is a very important part of user experience and interface design. It is easy to make mistakes that can hinder usability, visual appeal, and overall functionality. The best way to avoid common pitfalls such as overcomplicating the design, ignoring consistency, and overlooking accessibility is to make sure your icons are effective and engaging.
If you’re looking for high-quality icons that are simple, scalable, and intuitive, Iconfair offers a vast selection of professionally designed icons that cater to all your design needs. From minimalist icons to more intricate styles, Iconfair has the perfect solution to elevate your digital projects.
