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The most common faults in icon creation?
#1 Too little differentiation between icons It often happens that within one pack of icons, we see icons that look similar to one another and it is very difficult to tell what is what. If you donÒt see the signatures, you can very easily get the icons mixed up. #2 Too many elements in the icon The cleaner and more laconic the image is, the better. It is preferable to keep the number of elements in one single icon as low as possible. However, MicrosoftÒs graphic designers, excited by the new format of icons featured in Windows Vista, tried to go big and drew over packed icons to proof worthy their bloated budget. #3 Unnecessary elements An icon is an image that should be easy to understand. The fewer objects it has, the better. It is great if the whole picture makes sense and not just a part of it. That means, you have to understand the context your icons will be used at. Look at the database icons, for example. The set may appear fine for a novice, but if the software (or a specific toolbar) deals only with databases, we can (and we must) remove the unnecessary part. #4 Non-unified style in a pack of icons It is a similar style that unites several icons into a pack. The unifying property can be any of the following: color scheme, layout, size, drawing style or several of those properties combined. If there are only a few icons in the set, the designer can keep some rules in his head. If the icon set contains over a hundred images and there are several designers working on this task (for instance, icons for a new OS), then specific guidelines should be developed. Such guidelines describe in detail how to design an icon so that it fits straight into the set. #5 Spare details in small icons Progress does not stand still: interfaces have gotten the potential to display semi-transparent objects, lost the limitation on the number of colors and there is now a trend towards 3D icons. But is it actually all that useful? Not necessarily! Especially if we are looking at icons in size 16?16 or smaller. #6 Misusing original symbols Choosing what is to be drawn in an icon is always a compromise between reconcilability and uniqueness. Before a symbol (image) is developed for an icon it is smart to see how it is done in other projects. Maybe the most suitable solution lies not in inventing something original but rather in adopting the existing solution. #7 National or social differences not being taken into account It is always necessary to take into account the conditions in which your icon is going to be used. A key aspect here is ethnical characteristics. Cultural customs, surroundings and gestures can vary dramatically from nation to nation. For instance, a mail box would seam to be a perfect image for a ÓMailÔ icon. However, you will find all the different kinds of mailboxes in different countries. In that situation, you should either create an icon to represent the mailbox that is typical for the userÒs country or area, or select a more universal symbol like an envelope. #8 Images of real GUI elements in icons The tutorial on designing icons for Mac OS X warns us: ÓAvoid using Aqua interface elements in your icons; they could be confused with the actual interface.Ô But no use! We still have lost of icons that can be viewed as two or even three separate ones. #9 Text embedded into icons This mistake is typically seen in application icons. Clearly the first thing that crosses your mind when developing an application icon is to use the applicationÒs logo. What is so bad about the text inside the icon? First of all, it is strictly language-related and so forces localization. Secondly, if the icon is done in a small size, it is impossible to read the text. Third, in the case of software icons, this text is repeated in the caption of the software. #10 Outside the pixel framework This problem usually occurs if you use a vector editor for drawing icons. In large size the images looks pretty and clear; but in real life the icons are small, and under rasterization anti-aliasing blurs the objectsÒ borders.
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Standard Toolbar Icons
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ArtIcons Pro can find, extract, edit and create Windows icons in color depths up to 16 million colors. Import and export icon images, create and handle icon libraries. It supports the new icon format introduced in Windows XP (8-bit transparency). Download it |
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IconXP can edit and create Windows icons in color depths up to 32-bit True Color. It supports the new icon format introduced in Windows XP (8-bit transparency). You can customize desktop and folder icons. Download it |
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Any to Icon allows you to convert multiple BMP, JPEG, GIF, PNG, WBMP and WMF images to Windows icons in one action. It also breaks down entire icon libraries into individual icons. You can change color resolution and size to create customized icons. Download it |
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IconUtils is a complete icon and cursor solution. IconUtils package can edit icons and cursors, manage icon and cursor libraries, convert icons into images (in various graphic formats) and vice versa, customize Windows desktop and folder icons. Download it |
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Icon to Any allows you to convert Windows icons and cursors into BMP, JPG, PNG, GIF, ICO, CUR, WBMP and RC formats. It has a wizard interface. It's simple to process multiple files at once. You can find icons and make images for use on Web pages. Download it |
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ArtCursors allows you to edit Windows cursors in color depths up to 16 million colors. You also can search files and folders for cursors, import and export cursor images and create cursor libraries for better and more efficient storage. Download it |
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AhaView supports all popular graphic formats, including JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, ICO, CUR, ANI, WBMP. You can browse images in thumbnail mode, view pictures full screen with zooming features, convert images to JPEG, PNG, BMP formats and manage files. Download it |
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CustomIcons is an ultimate tool for customizing the icons on you desktop, in Windows Start menu and many other locations. Using CustomIcons you can easily replace default Windows icons with the ones to your choice. Download it |
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