Designing Icons And Other Graphics How To Create And Use Visual Elements Like Icons Illustrations And More In Your Design System

Updated
October 19, 2026
Category
STRATEGY
Author
Alabi Mercy
Reading time
12 min

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Icon Libraries in Design Systems

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What Icons Actually Do

Icons serve specific roles:

  • Navigation: Menu bars, tabs, and categories
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UI Icons vs Brand/Marketing Icons

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Fonts vs. SVGs

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However, they also have some limitations.

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Harbour β€” generated editorial brand study
Text vs. SVG Fonts

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SVG Icons: The Modern Standard

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Pros:

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  • Multi-color and gradient support
  • Easily animated using CSS or JavaScript
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Cons:

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Organizing Icons in Your Design System

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A clear starting point

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Naming Guidelines:

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Example Naming Structure:

  • action-submit
  • ui-dropdown
  • content-text
  • status-error

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2. Categorizing Icons by Purpose

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Common Categories:

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Tips for Effective Categorization:

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3. Using Figma Components for Scalable Icon Management

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Tips for Using Figma Components:

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Benefits of Figma Components:

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4. Using Asset Management Tools: IconJar

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Key Features of IconJar:

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Why Use IconJar?

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Icon, 3D or Illustration

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Glass sculpture brand study
Types of Icons

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SVGs vs Icon Fonts: Pick One, Not Both

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SVGs win.

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  • Supports multiple colors and gradients.
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When to Use Illustrations

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  • Support onboarding steps
  • Communicate empty states or success messages
  • Visually explain a product feature

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File Structure and Asset Organization

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Accessibility and Performance

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Design System Examples to Learn From

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Conclusion

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  • Build with consistency, not creativity
  • Use real grids and enforce strict structure
  • Default to SVGs and accessible patterns
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  • Keep illustrations functional and modular

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