Frontiers Icon Library
Client • Frontiers
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A comprehensive library of icons for one of the world's leading science publishing platforms.
I was super excited when Frontiers approached me to create an extensive set of iconography for them, developed as part of a wider rebrand they were working on. They wanted an icon set that covered all aspects of their business, from research topics to brand values. Overall the creative needed to work within the aesthetic of their new identity, providing a clean, professional and techy design, with a sense of quirkiness where possible.
This was a substantial and hugely enjoyable project. Including colour variations, I created over 250 different icons covering everything from biosciences and sustainability to artificial intelligence and innovation. Below is a detailed run through of the project, from initial creative routes through to the final deliverables.
Creative Routes
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To kick off the project, I presented a series of three creative routes to better define our approach, with each one catering to the broad requirements of the brief while providing a slightly different end result.
Design Principles
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The icon library utilized a strong set of underlying principles to help ensure everything had a good sense of visual continuity, provided an ownable ‘on-brand’ aesthetic, and would allow the library to be easily developed in the future.
Final Creative
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The creative direction uses strong, simple shapes to create a clear, contemporary set of iconography. A gradient is used to add a sense of energy, and corners are slightly rounded to provide a friendly aesthetic. Negative space is also used to add detail and create interesting relationships between the elements in each icon. The thick line weight and economical use of shapes provide impactful designs that read clearly even at a very small size. Overall the icons are clean and corporate, but with a techy edge and impactful, playful compositions.
UI Icons
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In addition to the main library, I also developed a smaller set of UI icons. These were created within the same framework as the rest of the iconography, but with more of a focus on simplicity to account for the smaller size at which they’d be used.
