A visual history of the greatest icon mascot in the history of the entire universe*

*I may be exaggerating.

With little fanfare and even less foresight, I made my first two icon sets available for sale on the 22nd of June, 2010. The blog post was titled Symboliconographogram — a nonsensical amalgamation of the words symbol, icon, pictograph, and pictogram.

Three months later, I thought better of the name, and purchased the domain Symbolicons.com. A month after that, a brand new website dedicated to selling my icons was launched. At the top of the site was a robot. His name was Bob. And I created him by accident.

Accidental Robot

At some point during the design process for the first version of Symbolicons.com, an idea started to take shape. I wanted something visually interesting at the top of the site. Something beyond just showcasing my icons. Something memorable. …

“If you build it, they will come.” — Field of Dreams (1989)

Imagine that you are a designer and have the idea for a new icon set. In the normal flow of things, you would then put metaphorical (and/or literal) pencil to paper and create said icon set. Once finalized, you export and package your new icon set, and then release it to the world. From there, anything is possible. Perhaps a few hundred sets are sold. Perhaps sales explode and the icon set is bought by millions of people. Perhaps it, and by association you, gain fame and notoriety when it’s included in the operating system of the first, fully-autonomous artificial intelligence. Perhaps that AI goes on to enslave humanity. …

In which the visual guide becomes increasingly less wholly incomplete.

Last week, I wrote a wholly incomplete visual guide on how to use icons on things. Today, I hope to make that list slightly less incomplete. Or more complete. Or whatever.

In the first installment, I gave examples of icons in interfaces, on marketing thangs, in mobile apps and websites, as tattoos, on signage, on maps, on James Bond posters, as labels, and in your imagination. In this next installment, I’ll give examples of icons on other stuff. So, strap in, hold onto your boots, and get ready for some more ICONS IN ACTION™

11. Powerpoint and Keynote Presentations

Whether you are creating slides to impress your clients, bore your co-workers, or simply pitch the next gazillion dollar startup, icons can bring a simple sense of clarity to your presentation decks. …

In which I provide some examples of icons on things and stuff.

I recently launched my first Kickstarter campaign for a versatile set of icons called Symbolicons Pro. The majority of backers are either designers or developers, but there are a few who simply love icons, but just don’t know what they’d use them for. In fact, a friend of mine recently said:

I simply love icons, but I just don’t know what I’d use them for.

Well, friend, I’ve compiled this handy list of ten common icon use-cases for your reading and viewing pleasure. Whether you’re a designer, a developer, a marketer, or simply a fantastic parent, icons can improve your life. …

If you’ve been following our story, you know that we recently took Notabli independent. We’re committed to opening up about our process, and recently wrote about the steps we’re exploring to ensure Notabli thrives.

Notabli is free to use, but costs money to operate.

The overhead is sizable (hint: more than $10K/mo for service costs alone); a lot goes into storing full-resolution photos and videos, keeping our servers humming, and our apps working smoothly. We also need to ensure that you are able to post about, and stay connected with, the kids you love.

Notabli is independent and does not sell, share, or monetize the personal information of you or your kids. …

Something is about to happen that rarely happens in the world of startups. In 2014, our company was acquired. Two years later, the team that built Notabli is taking it independent again.

It has been, and continues to be, an incredible journey. In many ways, it’s just the beginning.

The Journey

Notabli is a place to privately share photos, videos, quotes, and audio recordings of your kids with family & friends.

It’s like a collaborative Instagram focused on childhood, but with printed books and multiple moment types.

With a focus on simplicity and functionality, we’ve eschewed the term MVP, or Minimum Viable Product, in favor of MLP, or Minimum Lovable Product. We’ve never needed all of the bells and whistles. …