For the second phase of the main project I have been working on this semester I began to execute the design deliverables I decided on based off of the research phase. The first item I began work on was a set of custom icons for the organization. The icons related to the different services offered by the organization — Community Support, Computers and Internet, Education and Employment, Entertainment and Activities, Financial Assistance, Food, Housing, Hygiene and Clothing, Legal. medical , Mental Health, Trans Focused Services, Translation and Interpretation, and Transportation. I knew from my audience research that translating dense information into something quickly and universally understood was a priority, so for the icon designs themselves I needed to balance them being clear and obvious representations of what they were depicting while still giving them a unique visual style that correlated with the organization’s branding.
I started by creating 24px by 24px grids to design each individual icon in. It is important when designing an icon set to be consistent in size, weight, and style (i.e filled in shapes versus line work, rounded corners versus sharp edges). I opted for making the icons filled in shapes with no line work, and slightly rounding the corners to give them all a softer look that feels more in line with the organization’s branding. I also began by trying to make each icon out of the fewest shapes possible, and to only use common shapes to start. For example, for the housing icon, instead of starting off by drawing an outline of a house, I start by making a square and a triangle and put them together. This approach has been helpful for me to maintain consistency across the set.
Icons by sjh
The uses for the icon set aren’t necessarily traditional, as they won’t be applied to any UI. Because of this there is more room for experimentation with adding a background. This would allow for the organization’s branding to play a bigger role in the style of the set while maintaining clarity of what they are trying to communicate across their audiences.
