Custom Iconography — 3 years on
A catch up on my line icon experience and newly released “Life” icons set.
What I’ve learned
So I’m 3 years on from my 1st Icon Set and Medium post about Line Icon design. Whilst some of my dialogues and rules haven’t strayed….I’ve learnt to adapt my icons around UI/UX more.
Back in 2014 I was primarily a Brand and Web Designer. However, I’ve adapted my role to focus more on UI/UX and Web Design as this is my strongest skill set. Working with iconography on each digital/online creative project I come across has changed my perception on line icons.
You see, every company is different, whilst some icons may work on a small, more functional scale, some icons may need more detail and may be used in a more beneficial way.
I’ve also been looking closely and taking inspiration from such creatives like Justas Galaburda, RADIO & Zach Roszczewski to name a few. Establishing my skills in Web & UI design also helped me to progress massively as an iconographer and I believe I made the right move to focus more on a digital and online skill set. I have finally found my style in icon design; Minimalistic Line Icons.
Expansion of line Minimalistic Line Icons
Earlier this year I decided to expand upon my original Free Minimal Icon set. I wanted to create a set that had more depth and more flexibility in terms of what the user wants and how they want it.
I went for the idea of ‘Life Icons’. My thinking was that if a user has icons ranging from something simple as a settings cog icon right through to something more detailed like a range of household appliances and furniture icons, this would create a vast array of iconography to focus on.
The New Icon Set
I wanted to create an icon set the user could relate to and choose as a more fun and productive way of using icons. We see generic icons being used day-to-day and yes, they are important, but giving a more unique and custom edge to iconography is the future and the way forward in my opinion, after all we’re all human and interactivity is KING in modern day Web/UI&UX/App Design.
This icon set would be called ‘Minimal Life Icons’. The icon set would consist of 200 exclusive & bespoke line icons that represented life itself, with a view to future expansion on this set of course.
Over the past few years I have also been expanding my skills in the Sketch App and my mind has truly been blown with this app, it is amazing and so user friendly to use. Working every day as primarily a Web/UI&UX creative, the app has worked in my favour so well, I find it so smooth and easy to use. The Minimal Life icon set is synced perfectly with Sketch. All icons are already exported and also ‘ready for export’ and set out as variables for customisation in the source Sketch file and the source Adobe Illustrator file. Whether you’re a developer wanting to make quick changes to themes or a designer wanting to re-invent your website, I think the ‘Minimal Life Icons’ will suit you perfectly.
Future Growth of ‘Minimalistic Line Icons’
The Minimalistic Line Icon shop is now live on my website with the view to expansion. The ‘Life’ icons are currently for sale at a small price (£10 for the set).
On future expansion, I am currently working on a set of ‘Futuristic Tech’ icons. In the modern day, we are experiencing driver-less cars, new translation tech, wonders in Artificial Intelligence and leaps in VR technology, so this is a direction I’m excited to be working on and a challenge that you will soon see come to life!
The ultimate aim over the next 3 years is to expand on this small business and grow to be a talked about creative asset for designers and developers worldwide. I also want to focus on more product-based iconography. However, I do enjoy creating icons, I have a passion for them and I always have, so for me getting the recognition/appreciation of one person is as good as a 1000 people.
I’d just like to say thanks and a quick shoutout to fellow icon creatives that inspire me and who you should definitely check out folks! Justas Galaburda, Zach Roszczewski, RADIO, Ryan Putnam, Vic Bell.
Thanks for reading my story, you can always follow me on Twitter. You can also check out my work on Dribbble or find out a bit about me: My Website
