How many icons have you seen today?
Tens, hundreds, maybe even thousands?
And you’ve been programmed to understand each one without hesitation because that’s the point of an icon; to be simple and psychologically functional.
You’ll see an icon and get the message, the instruction, the warning and overall the guidance intended by the creator.
They are a visual language that comes as first nature to almost every human being because as babies and children we understand images and icons first, as a stepping stone to learn how to speak, read or write.
Each letter in the alphabet is an icon or a glyph, much like every punctuation mark of symbol you find on a keyboard.
All of these images and icons translate into another language, allowing us to evolve our communication skills for different purposes.
The truth is that the “icon” design may be the most impactful graphic element of our time and whether it’s a road sign, a word or a computer icon; the graphical icon has come a long way and never have they been used as much as they are today.
Xerox created the first computer icons in 1981
And Microsoft introduced them to us all in the 90’s.
But today we hold thousands of them in our pockets, on our desk and in our hands.
We notice them and use them.
We look at them and understand them.
But we fail to take in their sheer beauty and importance.
Take at look at some of the most beautiful icon designs below.
Click in images for ful projects or author sites and credits.
In reflection, your next design piece of a client doesn’t have to be a grid layout of text and media. It could just be a fantastic icon design like the ones above or a stained glass logo.
