The project was to design a set of 12 cohesive icons. The subject matter and style parameters were left up to my own discretion. But I would have to choose an engaging them and create a unified design. I wanted to choose a theme that would push me to be creative, allow me to explore something I love, and help me create interesting content for my viewer.

I chose to design a set of literary icons with each icon representing a different book. Because I knew the concepts themselves might be complicated, I chose to pursue a minimalistic design. I also knew I would need a strong set of rules to create a sense of unity and coherence among 12 different books.

I began with a lot of brainstorming before I even settled on my theme. Then I did more brainstorming – first jotting and outlining ideas and possibilities, then moving on to sketching. The sketching process helped me simplify each subject down to basic shapes. This helped me begin to establish rules early in the process and eliminate books that simply wouldn’t translate into a simple enough icon. I realized that while many books rely on the same common symbols (I sketched a bird for both The Goldfinch and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest), a combination of two symbols becomes exclusive and distinct (a bird and a gear for One Flew Over). Once I knew I wanted to draw the two most iconic symbols from each book, I knew I would have to further simplify them. I also realized I would have to establish their relationship: one inside the other.

As I worked through the drafting process, my biggest concern was unity. I was worried the icons would feel unrelated to one another. I hoped that with strong enough design rules creating some coherence, they would feel like a set. I also worried that the icons wouldn’t be instantly recognizable enough. Lastly, I struggled to find a suitable color scheme. I tried pastel colors, saturated colors, muted colors. Nothing seemed right. I was concerned there were too many colors but was also worried that the icons (like fire or a leaf) wouldn’t be recognizable enough without color.

I looked for solutions by seeking feedback and studying professional icon sets. I asked many friends and coworkers for opinions on color scheme, tallying votes and noting feedback. Then I browsed pinterest and behance looking for icon sets similar to mine for inspiration. I noticed a trend and decided to offset my fill to allow my colors a little more saturation without becoming overwhelming and to add a little extra depth. I also revised a few icons to make them more obvious. I asked my coworkers at the Writing Center to guess which book each icon was based on and changed the ones they struggled with. For example, I initially had a tree and a bee for Their Eyes Were Watching God and changed it to a pear and a hurricane.

This project was definitely a learning experience in terms of software, creative process, and plain old patience and perseverance. It pushed me to think creatively and problem solve. It also helped me identify what weaknesses and obstacles to anticipate in future projects. While I faced some major concerns throughout the process, I felt the consistency in design and strict adherence to my own rules helped the icon set succeed.