Marketing Icons – Elements, Design, and More

Marketing Icons

Marketing icons are pictures, symbols, or designs that signify a brand in the minds of consumers. They can be logos, slogans, fonts, or any other element that helps people recall a product or company. They matter since they help create an emotional connection between the customer and the product or brand.

Essential Elements of a Marketing Icons

However, to the designer or interested in Marketing icons, here are the basics any icon should have.

1. Size

You may have noticed that icons use the economy of language better than anyone else. I have already spoken on other occasions about this fascinating theory, which consists of the fact that language must use the minimum number of words necessary to express a message, no more, no less.

Hence, we avoid redundancies or know the correct use of adverbs. But, of course, you have to speak correctly!

Well, the same thing happens to icons. So, again, if we follow the maxim of the economy of language, design them in size as small as possible. Then, if they work, you can make them more prominent as your marketing needs require.

When I select or create icons for a visual identity, I start from a base and add details that give it character. But always, always, I start with the smallest. So, in my humble opinion, if they work on the smaller size, they’ll work on the larger ones.

In this exercise, you can see below; I have started with a small icon and added details so that it works in larger sizes.

2. Color

I like single-colour icons, and I think that’s how a hero should look to see if it fits your brand. Colour can confuse designers. The icon has corporate colours does not mean it works with the brand’s personality. Watch your back! Run away if a designer tells you the icon goes with your brand because it has its colours.

3. Rack

A pixel grid is precisely what its name implies: a pixel grid. When you design icons, the elements have to be aligned. Why? Because the icons should be simple, your brain should not spend a lot of resources processing them.

In addition, you will be able to render it (make it vector) without generating errors, and, in general, your icons will look better.

4. Borders and fills

Consistency is vital when it comes to icon families. Nothing makes me angrier than seeing two icons that have nothing to do with optical weight, level of abstraction, and style.

And it has unknown to do with whether or not the icons have padding. So here, you can see the same filled and unfilled icon next to another one that has nothing to do with it. Do you see it?

In general, solid icons read better than silhouette icons. Also, solids often have problems with details because if they are not flat, they are complicated, especially when the family is large.

5. Style

Your icons are a likeness of your brand. As you start this work, it’s essential to understand your brand values ​​and how they manifest visually. Some adjectives to think about:

• Is my brand solid/light?
• Luxurious/economical?
• Abstract/literal?

Some icons are easy to pose, like the X to close or the house for home. However, things get complicated when you consider more complex things, like a garbage can or a calendar. Therefore, I recommend starting with these icons before discarding the abstraction work and rethinking everything.

6. Metaphors

Metaphors are essential in icons. We use them all the time without even having to think: a house is the home page of a website, and some tools are the settings.

7. Perspective

The fever of flat design (flat design) has turned the world of icons into a place of icons without perspective. Not that it is a problem. If you want to use it, go ahead, but you must be careful and make the perspective part of your system.

8. Fonts

If possible, avoid using fonts on icons. They are not global because they vary from one language to another. However, if you need them, ensure they are an essential part and not a whimsical adornment.

Marketing Icons, Design and Principles

Before explaining the essential elements of a Marketing icon, let me briefly describe some of the most critical aspects of brand iconography.

·       Icons vs symbols

Regarding images, there is an essential distinction between icons and symbols.

Icons are images used to represent people, places, things, or ideas, while symbols are a category of icons.

Symbols are more abstract; they are images used to represent concepts, ideas or philosophies, and belief systems.

For example, icons can show us what action to take, such as a stop sign, while a symbol reveals what we believe, such as a company logo.

As the icons are static images, which do not have any meaning except the one we assign to them, they require the viewer’s participation to post meaning to them. That is why we have made the icon of a house the home of a website.

When used correctly, icons can help the viewer to participate in the shared brand universe.

Align your brand iconography with your target audience

Visual stand-ins for complex ideas are one of the best ways to engage with your audience.

When using icons, you must understand your target audience:

• What is important to them?
• What problems have you got?
• What goals are they trying to achieve?
• How will your product/service help them?

Now consider how you will present that information to them.

·       Less is more

One of the great benefits of using brand iconography is that they don’t need a lot of detail.

The fewer, the better, and the more people can identify with them.

Pay attention to these pictures:

Personalise your message

If you want your brand to represent the icons with their personality and values, I recommend using custom icons to create a visual identity.

You will give a different visual identity to your brand.

Thus, you will achieve that the audience relates to your audience and can transmit your values ​​coherently.

·       Clarity

The primary purpose of an icon is to communicate a concept quickly.

If they do not fulfil this objective, the icons do not serve the purpose for which they were created.

In some cases, the cost of achieving this goal is relatively low, such as in applications where you only need to make a few taps to guess what each of them consists of.

Over time, some more abstract icons, such as car warning lights, can be standardised.

In 1984, Susan Kare gave the task of creating an icon for the “function” key on Apple keyboards. As a result, she came to this abstract symbol, also found on Norse landmark signs.

The command icon has become a classic and represents what we now call the command key on Apple keyboards.

This highly talented designer could invent something because there was no set standard. If you have this same mission, she considers if a metaphor already exists or if you must create something to fill it with meaning.

·       Brevity

An idea well expressed in a few words is practical and elegant. In the user interface, the functionality must be present without interrupting the content. That is why you will always find icons in the user interfaces of applications like TikTok or Instagram, uniquely simple icons that do not interrupt the content.

·       Consistency in Marketing icons

To achieve harmony in an icon family, keep the same stylistic rules.

For example. All icons have a certain degree of visual weight, determined by parameters such as fill, stroke weight, size, and shape. Keeping these parameters the same in a set creates consistency.

·       Personality

Each set of icons has a personality. What makes it unique? What does it say about the brand? What mood does it create?

Conclusion

Consistency is essential when designing icons, as it creates a professional image of the company. Also, you must keep the user experience aspect in mind when choosing colour schemes and sizes and ensure the pixels are perfect.