Examples of icons I created.

2018

How I built a 200+ icon deep library for the City of Bend.

Role
Visual Designer

Team Size
1

Platform
Web / Social / Print

Tool Stack
Adobe Illustrator / Figma

Opportunity

The City wasn’t using icons in its design collateral before I started working with them. Icon usage, of course, has a bunch of benefits:

🌟 Visual Clarity & Speed

  • Quick recognition: Icons are processed faster by the brain than text, making interfaces feel more intuitive.

  • Skim-friendly: They help users scan content quickly, especially in navigation menus or dashboards.

🌍 Universal Understanding

  • Cross-language communication: Icons can bridge language gaps, which is great for global audiences.

  • Standard meaning: Many icons (like the trash can or magnifying glass) have become universally recognized.

📐 Space-saving

  • Compact design: Icons take up less space than words, which helps with clean, minimal layouts.

  • Great for mobile: They’re especially useful on small screens where space is limited.

🎨 Visual Appeal

  • Enhance aesthetics: Well-designed icons can make a UI feel polished and modern.

  • Brand personality: Custom icon styles can reinforce brand identity and tone.

🧠 Memory Aid

  • Reinforce meaning: When paired with labels, icons can make concepts more memorable.

  • Visual hierarchy: They help structure information and draw attention to key actions or info.

🧭 Improved Navigation

  • Wayfinding: Icons support easier navigation by visually hinting at what a button or section does.

  • Consistent cues: Repeated use of the same icons helps users learn how to use an interface faster.

Learnings

The process of distilling down a concept or idea into its simplest visual representation is a puzzle that I love to solve. This exercise actually taught me a lot about how to design—and communicate in general: to do so effectively, it’s important to remove the excess fluff.

Implementation

The icons I designed for the City became a unifying visual thread, ultimately used throughout the website, featured in print materials, and adapted for social content, enhancing consistency and reinforcing the brand across all touchpoints.

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