I work at a pharma company and I get tasked with including branding components to PowerPoint slides pretty usually. This virtually ALWAYS comes with a request like “are you able to redo the icons within the doc too”. I’m operating out of concepts lol. Like what number of other ways are there to symbolize “signs” or one thing else that’s extraordinarily widespread. And designing icons simply sucks on the whole. Seems like no creativity goes into it and I at all times find yourself with one thing that’s been accomplished earlier than in a technique or one other. Half the time there’s no must even change the icons – folks simply need to see one thing totally different and that’s the one factor they will suppose to ask for
I’m lucky that we use The Noun Project at work. I don’t despise it, but I often don’t have the time.
The opposite, it’s probably one of my favourite things about the job lol
I have a noun project template, and anytime I make an icon for something, I throw it in the file. Every time I get to 50, I upload to the noun project. I have been a noun project contributor for 8 years and make $300+ a month of these fun requests.
There’s almost always a new variation. That’s the challenge.
Are you working in-house, agency or freelance?. Depending on that why not go and buy some stock icon sets and use those to make iterations so you don’t have to build them from the ground each time.
You’re completely right about their wanting something different. I have icons that are a couple months old, they already want them changed! The newest request? “Can you make the icons less clip-arty?”
I feel you, I work in healthcare tech and they always complain that somethings not done yet and then I add one icon and they’re elated.
I’ve designed hundreds of healthcare icons at this point and my workflow is just going to Noun project to outsource the abstraction and then reproduce something similar to make it on brand. Don’t know what I’d do without the noun project.
I have had some fun icon projects, like designing a slide to illustrate an End 2 End data architecture for storing wound data, or icons around wound care with examples like “icon for hyperbaric pressure wound treatment”
Yes, they seem to be the answer to every communication problem now.
If they’re going to be used once and never seem again – like on a twitter graphic – yes. I usually get them from Freepik or flaticon.
If it was a proper brief where it a corporate set that would be used often fair enough. But ad hoc requests for one offs? That’s what stock is for.
It’s a shit assignment really. Just grab a stock icon set every time and call it a day. Don’t put any more effort into it then you have to.
I love designing icons and I’m bummed when other people get asked to make them at my job.
I love it. I think it forces you to be creative while still being legible, obvious, and recognizeable. It’s a challenge. Sometimes you get the freedom to do something abstract and illustrative and other times it’s corporate. One of my biggest sets was 45+ icons—it was a fun time. Did a set of 50 spot illustrations for a checklist site once (over just a week) and also fun.
It’s just part of the job. If you don’t have a dedicated ui designer it is what it is. Personally I don’t mind it at all. So many bland icons out there I’d rather make my own.
Anyway icon work is just simple vector work. It’s on the low end of difficulties in the grand scheme.
OMG Yes! I have so many stupid icon files. That should probably be next on my list of things to organize LOL
You getting paid to redo icons for someone’s powerpoint? Give them what they want and keep getting paid.
I usually just copy or tweak Font Awesome styles. IBM Carbon not bad either. Maybe we’re talking different sorts of icons though, I do UI not Graphic Design.
The Noun Project enters the scene
Pharma LOVES icons. I find building from scratch to be time consuming, so typically I gather assets from open source vector sites and combine them to make what I need. Custom icons for a branding package are fun because it’s part of creating the whole system and there’s more intention behind it. But random things needed for a presentation? Yeah, that’s less fun for me so I’m not going to use all my brain power on it.
I’m with you. For me though it’s mostly due to having to create icons for such specific concepts that I have no idea how to express graphically. I work as an in-house designer for a software company that does work for the real estate industry and I’m tasked with coming up with some icons based on very unique real estate terminology that I’ve never heard of before.
We have over 900 icons at my work and I love designing them. Usually I start with an existing icon and redraw it to fit our guidelines. We are a big science based company so some of the concepts are pretty interesting to try and capture (like encapsulation etc) – it’s a fun exercise in thinking laterally. Even the smallest changes in proportion can have a big impact so I really like it
Icons8 is real nice
Just don’t design them, use them from other sources like Adobe stock and stuff
The use of icons just gets out of control. My company rebranded and we just dropped the entire idea of icons and I’m happier for it. Our icon sets just kept ballooning with no end in sight. Ours weren’t adding any value or clarity and were just clutter.
go on noun project and use stock ones
Not meaning to be confrontational but I am on the opposite side of this. I acknowledge I am only speaking from my personal situation. Also, funnily, I also work for a pharma agency.
I’m a fairly senior designer. I work with a few other designers who are not confident/do not enjoy to making stuff like icons and illustrations. They are also chronically underemployed; I am generally semi-overwhelmed. I would love to pass off some of my projects, but unable because I am not confident in the level of the work. I don’t care if other designers make, find, or adapt icons/illustrations, but I do want designers to show initiative to identify a need for additional art and be able to source it and for it to be consistent with the brand style. Despite my rant, I’m pretty laid low key about the work and strongly dislike micromanaging.
In addition we have been getting pressure from higher on utilization. I have one direct report, who I’m trying to keep busy so management doesn’t lay her off. It’s difficult because she is mostly comfortable handling editorial edits and prepping files to go to press.
Icons I hate the most 🦝
That ask was prime awesome in like 2004. When you could actually invent iconography. Now we have expectations – lil hamburger in the corner is expected.
its not that i hate designing them but i hate how overused and how vague 90% of them are. so few of them assist communication
I actually found it pretty interesting.
Agreed that it’s not for everyone though. During a brand rebuild for a wide-reaching nonprofit, I had to address this. It was supposed to be a 20-icon project and ended up being 180. Of course not all of them made it to mainstream use, but they kind of built each other in a progression.
An A leads to B kind of thing… And so on. It ended up being easy, just tedious and pushing me to think in a different direction than usual.
It can be incredibly tedious, but don’t hate it right off the bat. You might be surprised. Noun Project is a good shortcut, but remember that brand is as true or original as it’s content.