What is Iconography? Definition, Meaning, and Usage in UI UX Design

Iconography is the most searched term in the design field whether it’s UI UX design or other. With the usage of iconographic styles, the online product results in a good product with a better user experience. Let’s know about Iconography meaning and its importance in UI UX design. It is the use of simple and recognizable icons. UI UX designers create iconography to provide a message. Icons can connect with their target audience and increase awareness for a business. 

A UX designer’s goal is to ensure that his products are positive. Its main purpose is to provide a meaningful experience to users. A designer should use iconographic styles.

It represents features, functionality, or content. Icons are supposed to be simple. These icons are visual elements that are understood immediately.

Icons are used in apps and website designs to express meaning to the users. The elements that we use in our designs should have a function. 

How do UX designers use Iconography?

A UI UX designer conducts user research and builds prototypes to check different icons and see how users react to them. Knowing the effectiveness of the iconography is important in UX design because it helps designers understand the value of different icons and know when to use them on web pages.

Qualities of Iconography

When designing icons, UI UX designers should make sure that iconography reflects the brand of the company, provides a good message, and creates a positive user experience. The following are the qualities of iconographic styles.

• The visual appeal of a user experience can influence different actions of a user. He might experience the action when he engages with an online site.

• The icons should be universally accessible. Everyone should understand them when they are used in groups with text.

• It helps to manage software and mobile interfaces. It must have universally recognizable symbols. Icons are used with commands to direct an interface. Icons help to improve user experience and allow designers to design with new strategies.

Guidelines to follow while using icons

• Icons should make sense

The most important thing is that an icon should provide a message to the users. An icon should communicate an intended message. The symbol should be globally understandable. 

• Should be consistent

Icons come in different shapes and sizes. You must follow a specific icon style for your project. Your icon’s style and rounded corners should be consistent across all your projects

• Should be simple

Icons provide a message but do not create illustrations. Your icon should be simple and must contain all the information required. Icons are small in size. Users will connect to an icon that has less amount of details. 

• Vectors

You must make sure that the icons you are using in a project are the vector icons. It will help you to change color and remove certain elements without losing clarity or sharpness. You can save them to use in digital products and an SVG file is the best choice. 

• Add Text labels

Text labels provide a meaning to the icon. Even by using universal icons, we cannot make sure that all the users are familiar with them. The users must understand how the icons are utilized because some icons can be used differently. 

• Color There must be a single color in icons. Don’t use different colors for each of your icons. Different colors are used to indicate an active icon. 

• Final step 

Finally, test the usability of your icons. Make sure that the users understand the meaning of the icon. You must know what the users are expecting from the icon. It will help you to understand the user’s intent about what they are looking for.

Wrapping Up

Iconography is very necessary in UI/UX design. After reading this article you must have acquired good knowledge about Iconographic styles. Learn more to understand iconography with the UI UX Design course. It represents content. There are many tools for iconography that you must check out. Iconographic styles give an identity to a product. The designers are responsible for creating icons.