I love small toys that keep me entertained. I glanced around my bedroom and began writing down all the knick knacks I saw. I kept a list with me as new toys game to my mind. As my list grew, I started to narrow it down. A lot of these objects have been around for years and many generations have played with them. I wanted to capture the feel of nostalgia along with new a retro.

A lot of the objects I picked I already had a pretty good idea on how I wanted each of icon to look. I focused a lot on how I wanted my end result to look as I brainstormed different ideas. Trying different types of fidget spinners and other sizes of Rubik’s cubes.

Figuring out the strokes was a working progress. I could not get them down. I had a handful of critiques suggesting to change them. I can’t say they are perfect now, but I was able to get them more consistent throughout my icons. I was also able to fix the alignment with my lines, specifically with my boxes. I got rid of the drop shadow on each of the icons as well. Though it may not work very well for this project understanding different settings in Illustrator is always helpful for future projects.

As mentioned previously I wanted some of these knick knacks to bring back a form a nostalgia. Make them memorable. I haven’t played Tetris since I owned a Gameboy years ago, but I spun my fidget spinner yesterday. Yet all of the knick knacks together bring a sense of fun. I hope the simplicity of my icons can bring you some joy as you reflect back on the last time you picked up one of these objects.