2025-02-14 21:39:39
Since January 2024 the Streamline team has been on a monthly quest to curate the best and most creative icon design. It's been inspiring to see the work being done, and we've gathered over 500 projects in a year.
Last month, things got tougher as we narrowed down this huge collection to a smaller group of fifteen standouts. Because, let us say it again, good icon design is about more than just visuals — it's about solving communication challenges.
So, to celebrate the designers who excel at this tricky balance of simplicity and impact, we're excited to announce the second edition of the Best Icon Awards. These awards honor exceptional skill, original thinking, and the power of visual communication.
Our team spent a lot of time reviewing the finalists and voting on our favorites. Join us as we reveal the winners and celebrate these inspiring icons and the talented artists who created them.
Before we reveal the winners, we want to highlight some other outstanding projects that deserve attention. These designs, while not award recipients, demonstrate the incredible talent and diverse approaches we saw last year.
Kicking of our list is a set of icons designed by Studio zur Strassen for Trait, a running app. These icons managed to capture the energy of running culture — those bold, powerful movements — and then softened it with these gentle curves that hint at the gradual process of building a healthy habit. It's a really clever visual language that ties in perfectly with Trait's fresh rebranding.
The whole set feels playful and purposeful as if it's celebrating that feeling of post-run euphoria and the journey to a healthier lifestyle. It's a delicate dance between practicality and personality, and Studio zur Strassen has executed it flawlessly.
Forma & Co clearly put a lot of thought into these icons for the University of Barcelona, designing visuals that would work for everyone from freshmen to professors. The result is a set of icons that are clean and minimalist, with bold, geometric shapes that feel both modern and in line with the university's formal identity.
But they're not just stylish — they're incredibly functional too. The icon for "bookshelf" is a great example of how intuitive they are. It's clear that a great deal of care went into making these icons intuitive for such a diverse user base. The result is a set of icons that not only enhances usability but also subtly reinforces the University of Barcelona's professionalism and commitment to a user-friendly digital experience.
Jordan Jenkins' icons for Landed are designed to seamlessly integrate with the brand's approachable personality, which is crucial for a platform focused on connecting companies with top talent. Landed uses rounded corners and soft edges throughout its website and marketing materials to create a sense of warmth and accessibility, and the icons extend this visual language.
The rounded forms and simple lines, like those on the "globe" and "mail" icons, contribute to a less intimidating and more intuitive experience for both recruiters and job seekers. This consistency in visual language across the entire platform reinforces Landed's commitment to a user-friendly experience and builds trust with its users.
Built strictly following grids and keyshapes — you can almost see the underlying structure in the clean lines and balanced forms — the icons created by Makers Company for O'Reilly Media strike a perfect balance between sturdy lines, solid shapes, and white space. Three words to describe them: clean, functional, appealing. I mean, you can guess what each icon means even without any text accompanying them.
The subtly rounded corners give the icons a bit of personality while maintaining a neutral look. And their clarity makes it easy to find what you're looking for, even when you're quickly scanning a busy interface. This is especially important in a complex app like O'Reilly's, where users need to access information quickly and efficiently.
The peak trend of flat icon style has long passed, but Laura Nunes' icons for UMAUMA prove that good design is timeless. You can really see the geometric influence from their logo — basic shapes built with straight lines and sharp corners, like the file icon — it's a smart way to tie everything together visually.
And the colors! So vibrant and energetic, which is perfect for a company in the entertainment sector. It's clear these icons aren't just functional, they're designed to inject some personality into UMAUMA's internal communications. I can imagine them making company newsletters and announcements a lot more engaging.
The honorable mentions already demonstrated the power of great icon design, but now it's time to give the spotlight to the very best. Choosing the top 10 was a huge challenge, but the winners are a testament to the incredible talent out there. Let's now explore these truly remarkable projects.
I can see how Dmitri Litvinov wanted to make Superbet's icons stand out — apparently the sports betting market is a competitive one! Following a grid of 24px and keylines, these icons are clean and geometric, which gives them a modern feel.
There's also this little touch of the subtly curved lines, like the message icon. It softens the geometric feel just enough to make the design feel more playful and, more importantly, it keeps the set from feeling too sterile. The icons are functional too — you can tell what each one represents at a glance. And they work well as a set, creating a consistent look across the app.
These Gustini icons, designed by Koto Studio, feel like a little treasure hunt for anyone who loves Italian food. With an organic look inspired by key products like cheeses, olive oil, and balsamico, the icons capture the brand's blend of tradition and contemporary charm. Their design works nicely with the quirky, painterly style of the Sunset Gothic Pro typeface, creating a cohesive visual identity.
Integrated with the warm typography and Mediterranean color palette, the icons enhance Gustini’s relaxed feel. Their playful nature adds to the brand’s storytelling while subtly evoking the joy of Italian cuisine and lifestyle.
Koto’s design makes navigation easier and feel more inviting. The down-to-earth look of the icons makes you crave the good life — and maybe even a holiday?
In eighth place is a set of stylish wayfinding icons designed by Forma & Co for Simon Switch. The team described their vision as harmonious and quiet — and I think they nailed it.
The elegant lines with a geometric touch make them a perfect fit for a sophisticated office environtment. But more importantly, these icons are subtle. They blend in with the building's architecture like they belong there, not just tacked on. And yet, they're incredibly effective at making navigation effortless.
It's a tricky balance to strike, making wayfinding clear without being visually overwhelming, but these icons manage to do both. Beautiful, isn't it?
The way Pedro Renan has captured the feel of the Sankt Niklaus Tennis Club in these icons is amazing. You can see the clean, minimalist lines right away displaying a modern vibe. And look at the arrow icons, shaped like the curving lines of a tennis ball.
Their design is dynamic and elegant, echoing the typographic energy of Dropshot Display with the sophisticated green palette tying them to the club’s heritage. But it's not just about making things look pretty, these icons are clearly designed to be functional too.
Imagine members and visitors easily finding their way around the club using them. It's a great example of how design can respect the past while still feeling fresh and contemporary.
Developed as part of the eBay Evo brand and design system, the icons designed by eBay design team are stripped of unnecessary detail — a perfect way for creating a user-friendly experience on a platform with so much content.
Built on common metaphors like the cart and gift, consistent stroke weights, and refined details, the set adds up to the eBay experience, making navigation across platforms effortlessly easy. I mean, look at the sneaker icons — you can tell they're sneakers even without the label.
The launch of eBay Evo marks a major step forward, and it's undeniable that this icon set isn’t just about aesthetics — it embodies eBay’s ongoing commitment to a better user experience.
Human touch is a key point in these two sets of icons created by Zach Roszczewski for Gofundme, designed to uplift users facing difficult life events while using the app. The interface icons, like the hand holding a heart, show simplicity and friendliness. The clean, flowing lines feel kind and approachable, creating a sense of ease and support.
The illustrated icons bring an extra layer of warmth and authenticity. With their hand-drawn, rough-stroke style, they resonate on a deeply personal level. The use of candles for memorials and ribbons for charity is particularly effective, instantly conveying the specific purpose of each donation category.
Together, both sets create a cohesive and emotionally compelling visual language that perfectly embodies GoFundMe's mission of compassion and connection.
Victor Erixon’s icons for Mobbin have a really crisp, clean look that feels both modern and practical. You can tell they're designed with a lot of attention to detail – everything is geometrically consistent, which makes the whole set feel cohesive. They just seem like they'd effortlessly guide you around the Mobbin interface. The balance of solid shapes and clean, bold lines is a design well done, making sure the icons are easy to see no matter what size they are.
What I like about these icons is that they're simple without being boring — the "image" icon is a personal favorite. They cover all the essential actions you'd expect, like bookmarking and searching, and even the interactive elements like toggles and notifications feel intuitive. They just blend seamlessly into Mobbin’s sleek and uncluttered design.
You can tell Erixon really focused on making sure the line weights are consistent and that the icons work well together as a set. It reflects Mobbin’s user-focused approach, and it definitely makes navigating the website feel smooth and intuitive. Also, take a look at this motion video introducing the icons. Perfection!
Zach Roszczewski's "Mudra" icon set for Lululemon earns its place in our ranking. These icons beautifully capture the balance between movement and stillness that lies at the heart of yoga. The subtly curved edges soften the underlying geometric forms, giving the whole set a sense of grace and fluidity.
They manage to be both minimalist and expressive, adding a touch of serenity to any app interface. The "meditation" icon, for example, is a simple pictogram of a person in a seated position, with gently curved lines that evoke a sense of calm and focus.
For their audience, who are passionate about yoga and mindfulness, these elegant and functional icons will enhance their experience on the platform. Overall, it's a cohesive and visually soothing set that perfectly complements the Lululemon brand and that sets its place in our ranking.
Ragged Edge’s icons for Checkmyfile have a really friendly and approachable feel, which is perfect for a credit-checking service. They're clean and rounded, which gives them a soft, optimistic look, and they definitely make you feel like you're making progress as you use the app.
The bold, simple designs make it easy to find what you're looking for, and the colorful backgrounds add a bit of warmth without being overwhelming. I like how the icons work with the rest of the visuals to highlight important actions like tracking your score, getting notifications, and seeing your achievements.
The icons really capture Checkmyfile’s goal of making credit checking less intimidating and more manageable. They're clear, vibrant, and definitely make the whole experience feel more optimistic and easy.
Jeff Wiggins’ icon set for Banzai is huge – over 400 icons! – and it has a really nice, friendly feel that fits Banzai’s brand perfectly. They're based on simple geometric shapes with rounded corners and smooth lines, which makes them both playful and easy to read — a neat way to make it much more engaging to use Banzai’s educational platform.
It’s clear this set was designed to last. It works really well with Banzai’s typeface, VC Cardinal, creating a consistent visual identity. What’s really impressive is how forward-thinking the design is. Wiggins has made sure these icons are compatible with previous versions and other Banzai products, which makes life easier for the design team. The fact that they’re all based on a shared grid and come with detailed guidelines shows how scalable and sustainable this set is. It’s a smart investment that can grow and change without losing its core identity.
This icon set is a great example of how attention to detail and user-focused design can really elevate a brand. It’s not just about making things look nice; it’s about making the whole Banzai experience better. It’s a really well-executed project. Bravo!
Creating and curating icons has taught us that great icon design goes beyond aesthetics. It’s about visualizing ideas for instant recognition, enabling communication for diverse users, even without words or labels. And the impact goes further: different projects have shown that icons can connect us to our heritage, strengthen identity, convey emotions, and inspire action. It's incredible how these seemingly simple visuals can have such a huge impact — a testament to the remarkable designers who create them.
We're always on the lookout for great icon design. Every month, we share some of the most inspiring icon projects we've found online in our Icon Design Spotlight newsletter. And each year, we celebrate the absolute best in icon design with our Best Icon Awards. Subscribe to catch our curated selection of outstanding work, or explore our archive for past publications.
P.S. If you've spotted a truly innovative or unique icon project — maybe even your own! — we'd love to see it. Send it our way, and it might just be featured in an upcoming newsletter. Until then, let’s keep spreading the love for icons! ❤️
2025-02-11 23:28:29
➡️ A set of playful wayfinding icons by workshop91.
🚀 A fancy use case of Core Flat icons on an app onboarding pages.
🏆 The Best Icon award is around the corners. Take a peek as we countdown the most inspiring icon design for 2025!
Let's get started 👇
Facebook was founded 21 years ago, and this screenshot was probably taken from the mobile version around 2009 to 2011 during the early mobile app era. It's interesting how icons were so colorful back then. 👀
Icons represent concepts that communicate a meaning. When concepts become outdated, so do the icons. And when an icon represents a legacy object, it becomes “old” and “dated”, just like the objects themselves. So unsurprisingly icons get replaced.
Join us as we reveal the winners! 🤩🏆✨
Top 10 Icons of 2025
— Vincent Le Moign (@webalys) February 10, 2025
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🔥 #10 – Superbet Icon Design System / by @dmiiiitri
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Superbet’s icons mix clean shapes with subtle curves for a modern, playful feel. Built on a 24px grid, they’re clear, consistent, and easy to recognize. pic.twitter.com/SP6mlVMGIe
Top 10 Icons of 2025
— Vincent Le Moign (@webalys) February 10, 2025
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🔥 #09 Gustini by @studiokoto
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Gustini’s icons feel like a treasure hunt for Italian food lovers, blending tradition with a modern touch. Playful and organic, they pair beautifully with the warm typography, evoking the joy of Italian cuisine. pic.twitter.com/RgIfzQ4mIc
The icon design community never ceases to amaze us. With each month bringing fresh inspiration, we'll be back again with more curated projects to spark your creativity. ✨
Check out our archive of Icon Design Spotlight in case you missed them 👇
Join us inpiring the icon design community in next month's Best Icons. Submit your work to [email protected] or mention us @streamlinehq—the best will get featured!
Put on your learning hat and dig into our growing knowledge base about icon design on the Icon University.
2025-01-06 18:52:29
🔮 Sophisticated icons for tarot app that are simply magical.
😺 Cat emoji-like symbols as pet food safety labels—what could be better?
✍️ See how hand-drawn icons brings personality to a website in our Freehand Icons use case.
Let's get started 👇
3D icons by Peng
Genmoji are here—bold, colorful, and definitely unique. Love them or not, they’re hard to miss. What do you think? 👀
The icon design community never ceases to amaze us. With each month bringing fresh inspiration, we'll be back again with more curated projects to spark your creativity. ✨
Check out Best Icons from the previous months in case you missed them.
Join us inpiring the icon design community in next month's Best Icons. Submit your work to [email protected] or mention us @streamlinehq—the best will get featured!
Put on your learning hat and dig into our growing knowledge base about icon design on the Icon University.
2024-12-18 18:38:32
Don't reinvent illustrations —Streamline have crafted the best for you!
Streamline, recognized with Figma's Best Graphic Resource award, offers a massive library of over 30,000 high-quality illustrations across 21 families and 30 sets. Easily customize these assets for your brand and seamlessly integrate them into your Figma and Adobe workflows.
All are free as low-res PNGs and available in desktop app, Figma plugin or Lucid plugin.
The Free Bangalore image style example features:
Streamline's diverse collection and styles makes it good to use in a variety of projects from UI/UX, print, and graphic design.
Doodle Ipsum powered by Blush design call themselves the "The lorem ipsum of illustrations". Just customize your doodles, grab the code, and use them on your web prototypes, landing pages, or no-code tools. It auto-magically generates placeholder illustrations with a simple line of code.
Blush offers almost 12 categories in different styles both in FREE and PRO.
The casual style makes these illustrations suitable for creative projects, particularly those targeting younger or design-savvy audiences.
Many Pixels provides clean, minimalist vector illustrations with flat colors and bold lines, ideal for websites, presentations, marketing, and digital design projects.
Available in 15 styles, 17 categories and a lot of free illustrations to power up your designs under their "Pixel Market" website.
Many pixels also describes their styles in a fun way such as "Tropical line", ''Toonville'', "Funkyways" etc...
Craftwork is known for its premium design resources, but don't miss their impressive selection of freebies! Explore collections like Openstickers, Smash Illustrations, and On Fire Illustrations to discover high-quality 3D and vector illustrations, fonts, and mockups that will elevate your projects.
→ Openstickers collection full of love, peace, and sunshine.
→ Smash Illustrations - Offers unique story mixing and matching characters, objects, and styles
→ On Fire Illustrations - Spicing your design using acid colors and defiant illustrations.
Best to use when you wanted to add a little bit of edge and uniqueness on your designs.
Lukasz Adam is an Illustrator and designer who provides free minimalist SVG illustrations in his own style with a clean line art and flat colors. His illustrations are free for personal and commercial use!
LUKASZ ADAM FREE ILLUSTRATIONS SET
Getillustrations offers a vast collection of onboarding illustrations for your projects, constantly updated with new packs and free content. Their commitment to providing the largest illustrations bundle ensures you have access to a wide variety of resources for your creative needs.
They also offer versatile vector packs in styles like flat, isometric, abstract, and hand-drawn. They suit UI/UX design, branding, and even marketing designs.
GETILLUSTRATIONS.COM FREE ILLUSTRATIONS SET
Illustrations.co offers a collection of over 100 open-source vector illustrations designed for personal and commercial use. They focus on clean, modern visuals suitable for use in landing pages, mobile apps, presentations, and blog designs!
You can download all illustrations completely free and use these to design awesome - landing pages, mobile app or presentations.
Pixel true offers a wide range of modern and versatile illustration packs suitable for web and app design. Their styles range from playful, vibrant, and minimalistic to thematic packs covering topics like tech, education, lifestyle, and seasonal events. All illustrations are available in Pro and Free sets for us to try.
Storyset offers vibrant, flat-vector illustrations with customizable colors, clean designs, and subtle gradients. Their styles include dynamic characters, themed scenes, and optional animations, perfect for digital projects, branding, and storytelling. In their own words they are "Awesome free customizable illustrations for your next project"
Storyset is best for websites, apps, presentations, marketing, branding, infographics, and educational content. Its modern, customizable designs work well for digital-first projects.
DrawKit offers clean, flat, vector-based illustrations with a minimalist, friendly style. They cover diverse themes, are customizable, and perfect for professional yet approachable projects. The illustrations have available Pro and Free versions when you sign up.
Best for simple, modern projects but less ideal for distinctive or intricate needs.
Humaaans provides a library of customizable, flat-style human illustrations featuring diverse skin tones and body types. These modular illustrations, although in a typical corporate style, allow you to easily mix and match poses, outfits, and hairstyles to create unique, scalable visuals. Perfect for websites, apps, and presentations, these illustrations were made for anyone to easily create visuals that perfectly match your vision – all for free!
Ideal for customizable, inclusive designs, but less suitable for detailed or non-human illustrations.
Reshot’s colorful and impressive illustration library is royalty free, and can be used in any commercial projects. They provide a range of free vector illustrations in styles like flat design and line art, with themes including business, technology, and lifestyle.
Ideal for versatile, budget-friendly projects but less suited for highly unique or personalized designs.
The Transhumans collection by Pablo Stanley on UIStore offers futuristic, tech-inspired illustrations with a focus on human and machine integration. In verbatim - "A free collection of bold and raw illustrations, inspired by 80s sci-fi, punk rock, and the concept of transcending human limitations."
These illustrations are ideal for tech-related websites, presentations, and projects focused on innovation or the future of human-technology interaction.
Sketch Valley offers hand-drawn, sketch-style vector illustrations covering themes like business, tech, and lifestyle. The designs are creative, playful, and customizable, ideal for projects that need a casual, artistic touch.
They offers free access to many of their illustrations. However, some premium illustrations may require a purchase or subscription.
Ideal for creative, informal projects but may not fit more polished, professional needs.
We are Skribbl provides a collection of hand-drawn, playful vector illustrations bursting with vibrant and quirky personality. These illustrations are perfect for projects that require a fun and approachable aesthetic, such as websites, marketing materials, and social media content.
100% HUMAN MADE, 2,966 hand-drawn illustrations created by a global community of 77 world-class artists.
Best for creative, informal projects, but less suitable for professional or highly detailed designs.
While our main list showcases the crème de la crème, we couldn't ignore these exceptional free illustration resources. Their unique styles and high-quality designs warrant a special shout-out. Here they are:
Storytribe is your go to site if you wanted to create a storyboard on a whim! No drawing skills needed. Custom illustrations and storyboards for video makers, marketers, and UX designers.
StoryTribe offers some free illustrations, but full access to their collection and customization features typically requires a subscription or paid plan. The free version may have limited options or features compared to the premium version.
These illustrations are ideal for projects that require engaging, story-oriented visuals, such as websites, presentations, and marketing content.
UnDraw is perhaps the most popular corporate-style flat illustration library, and for good reason! They provide a large collection of open-source, customizable illustrations that span across many categories. The best thing about them is that all their illustrations can be used without any cost and are customizable to fit your project needs.
Ideal for clean, adaptable designs but less suited for projects that need unique, highly detailed, or complex visuals.
Icons8 offers a variety of customizable, high-quality illustrations in styles like flat, isometric, 3D, and outline. The platform is user-friendly, with both free and premium options available.
Notioly by Mary Amato share daily illustrations in Notion Style!
The free pack includes:
🟠 🟠 ⚪️ ⚪️ ⚪️ Style Diversity
For a more extensive and diverse set of illustrations, consider exploring the complete Notioly collection.
2024-12-03 17:45:17
✨ eBay published its icon system with detailed guidelines and it has been on our favorite list ever since.
🐻 Who said signage has to be formal and serious? We found a friendly and eye-catching example that redefines the purpose of signs.
🧪 A way to have fun with icons is to experiment with them. One of our favorite designers shows what can be done when we play with our constraints a little.
🔥 Check our Flex and Guidance icons used as brand iconography, museum signage, and more.
Let's get started 👇
Brightscout Iconography by João Baptistella
Animated icons by Dmytro
Discovered by Web Design Museum and EpicB
Evgeniy Artsebasov shows exactly what’s possible when we let go of grids, frames, and other constraints in icon design.
The icon design community never ceases to amaze us. With each month bringing fresh inspiration, we'll be back again with more curated projects to spark your creativity. ✨
Check out Best Icons from the previous months in case you missed them.
Join us inpiring the icon design community in next month's Best Icons. Submit your work to [email protected] or mention us @streamlinehq—the best will get featured!
Put on your learning hat and dig into our growing knowledge base about icon design on the Icon University.
2024-11-01 20:21:20
Check them out! 👇
We weren't even around back then 🥲
I mean, who would have thought that "icon designer" would be one of the oldest professions out there? 😂
Shoule we reinvent the "save" icon? Or shouldn't we? 🤔
The icon design community never ceases to amaze us. With each month bringing fresh inspiration, we'll be back again with more curated projects to spark your creativity. ✨
Check out Best Icons from the previous months in case you missed them.
Join us inpiring the icon design community in next month's Best Icons. Submit your work to [email protected] or mention us @streamlinehq—the best will get featured!
Put on your learning hat and dig into our growing knowledge base about icon design on the Icon University.
