How to find best icons for your design?

Ever landed on a site or app and just known where to click without reading a single label? That’s often the magic of good iconography at work. Icons are more than just tiny pictures; they’re a vital part of a user’s experience, guiding them, providing quick comprehension, and adding to the overall aesthetic. But finding or creating the right icons? That can be a quest in itself.

Why Bother with Icons, Anyway?

Universality (mostly): Well-chosen icons can transcend language barriers. A magnifying glass for search, a house for home – these are pretty universally understood.
Space Saving: They can convey meaning in a much smaller footprint than text. Super important for mobile UIs!
Visual Appeal & Branding: Consistent icon styles contribute massively to the look and feel of your product.
Improved Scannability: Users can often scan a page and pick out icons faster than reading text labels, helping them find what they need quickly.

The Great Icon Hunt: Resources Galore

Okay, so you’re sold on icons. Where do you get these little gems? Luckily, the web is overflowing with fantastic resources, whether you need a massive library or just a few specific ones.

For general purpose, high-quality icons:

Iconify is a game-changer. It pulls together a TON of popular icon sets (like Material Design Icons, FontAwesome, Remix Icon, etc.) into one framework. You can use their web component or grab SVGs directly. Massive time saver.

Speaking of Remix Icon, it’s one of my personal favorites for a clean, neutral style that works in a lot of contexts. Open source and beautifully crafted.

If you’re after a super simple, no-fuss aesthetic:

Humbleicons offers a pack of simple, neutral, carefully crafted icons. Great when you want something understated.

Need brand icons? Like, “that specific SaaS tool’s logo”?

Simple Icons is THE place. It’s a CCO project (meaning free to use however you want) with thousands of brand icons in SVG format.

For something a bit more diverse or niche:

The Noun Project has an absolutely colossal collection of icons covering almost anything you can imagine. They have free options with attribution and paid plans.

Bringing Icons to Life (Literally!)

Static icons are great, but sometimes a little animation can go a long long way in providing feedback or drawing attention.

Check out Animated Icons. They offer high-quality animated icons that can really make your UI pop. Many are free to download too! (Also, LottieFiles is another big player here, although not directly in your list for this component, it’s worth a mention for animated vector graphics!)

Don’t Forget Logos and Avatars

Sometimes it’s not just functional icons, but logos for your project or even placeholder avatars.

SVGL is a lovely library of SVG logos for various companies and projects. Handy when you need to represent other services in your UI.

And for generating unique avatars for profiles or mockups, DiceBear is a super fun and versatile library.

Best Practices for Icon Usage

Consistency is Key: Stick to one style. Don’t mix line icons with filled icons or different visual weights. It looks messy.
Pair with Labels (Often): While some icons are universal (like a “home” icon), many benefit from a text label, especially for complex actions. Don’t sacrifice clarity for minimalism.
Test Them: What makes sense to you might not make sense to your users. Get feedback!
Consider Touch Targets: Make sure icons are large enough to be easily tapped on mobile devices.

Wrap Up

Iconography is a deep topic, but armed with these resources and principles, you’re well on your way to creating more intuitive and visually appealing interfaces. What are your go-to icon sets or tools? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!