Simple, clear, useful. It’s the details. The latest technology. The complete experience. Better is only better if every detail is considered in the tools that inspire others to make the best.
INSIGHT #37
»Simple is good.«
This sounds obvious but the simplest representation of a metaphor might not always be the most comprehensible. The right amount of detail is the key to a successful icon design!
Show, don’t tell. Here are some project snippets. Every project has a unique style, icons work just like (and together with) fonts. They give your visual communication a distinct tone, character and direction.
viewbook portfolio builder. More than 100 glyphs built into a webfont. See more here: http://next.viewbook.com
ESPN.com is launching a major redesign in 2015. SportsCenter is the No.1 sports app of all time. Running on more than 44 million devices. With the unification of the UI and icons for all media covering almost all sports, ESPN focusses on the core fan experience.
The new site is a mobile-first design that is fully responsive. Public beta has already started. The site's official relaunch will come in Spring of 2015 in time for ESPN.com's 20th anniversary.
Outlined or solid. Here’s a comparison of the icons in outlined and solid state. The outlines match Apple’s User Interface Guidelines and the solid versions work well on Android devices.
Production ready. Both styles derive from one single vector master. The outlined version has a contour of 2 units, the solid version has 3 units. Both share the same container size of 56x56 units.
Scaleable vector icon system for Cisco. A systematic icon system with more than 1000 icons helps Cisco to replace text labels on hardware & software to reduce production cost of the localization of their broad line-up from IP phones to network routers.
This is the fantastic Cisco logo by Joe Finocchiaro and Jerry Kuyper. It symbolizes the San Francisco Golden Gate bridge.
The single elements that form the icon system come up in different icons and unify the appearance of the family.
The icons look absolut identical on hardware and in software. This helps to identify the new icons easily.
The use of icon-only labels decreases the need for the different localized versions of the hardware radically. And this means lower production cost!
The new Yahoo! icon system. Flat design is the new chrome.
The new system steps away from the rendered look of the previous versions. Simple, flat friendly shapes that work together with type form the new information units. More than 400 icons have been built!
Complex icons derive from the basic icons that have been combined with additional symbols. In this example the »Homes« icon returns in a simplified form with additional elements:
The new volvocars.com is here. The style of the new icon system derives from the strong new product design and the new corporate typeface. This provides a strong visual connection.
The new Oberbank icon system is built on the typographic grid and follows the corporate typeface with the style and character to form a unified communication tool.
Simple is good! Logitech starts a new sub-brand »logi« and both Logitech and logi come with a new font, design and icon system. A colorful new attitude and re-imagined logo.
Let’s work together! Just send an email. I’d love to join your design team for the next project to build great stuff! –Stefan Dziallas
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