Icons are a great way to break up text and to provide visual clues for a reader to use as navigation or way finding. They are versatile little images that convey often complex concepts instantly (if they are well designed!).
Interestingly a lot of icons have become so ubiquitous that they have almost become part of the language itself even if the thing they represent has become obsolete – think floppy disks for “save” and a landline telephone for a phone number.
Sourcing icons
When you need icons for a project or for your brand take some time to identify all the elements you will need before starting and work out your budget. As with everything, you get what you pay for! But there are some good royalty free libraries that you can use if you want to keep costs low. For instances where you need a lot of icons this is definitely the route to go down. The trick is to set in place guidelines to help select icons so that they look cohesive and on-brand rather than clip-arty and a bit random. A good place to start for icon inspiration is The Noun Project.
Why go bespoke
It is obviously more labour-intensive, but the results speak for themselves. You really do get what you pay for! From a brand perspective you get ultimate control over the look and feel – sharp and angular or hand drawn and friendly for example. You can also bring to life those products or services that are intrinsic and peculiar to your organisation that royalty free, generic icons could never cover. And visually they will look so much more consistent as they have been crafted by the same hand – slight differences in corner radii or line thickness really do have an impact. We recommend creating a core icon suite that covers off your business pillars, products, services and concepts. This can then be used as the basis of your icon brand guidance.