Instead of letters and numbers, an icon font contains glyphs, symbols, or pictograms. They are the simplest way for a UI designer to add icons to a UI design project.
One of the great things about using an icon font is its scalability. They can be resized without losing quality, making them perfect for responsive web design. With CSS media queries, they can be scaled up for desktop or down for mobile. Icon fonts are also fully customizable, allowing you to adjust the size and edit colors to fit the aesthetic of a UI design.
Adding icon fonts to any web design or mobile app project is easy using CSS. You load the font file using @font-face, and using standard CSS rules, you can set the font-size, color, padding, margin, or other properties.
Although very popular, icon fonts do also have their pitfalls. Ian Feather has discussed his reasons for switching from an icon font to SVG, and CSS Tricks have outlined some considerations when choosing between icon fonts or SVG icons. Both favor SVG.
As a counter-argument, Pictonic has said that icon fonts are 10% faster than SVG. These are just things you should consider before using icon fonts.
To ensure that your icons always load correctly and have reliable fallbacks for browsers that don’t support @fontface, you should take a look at the guidelines set out by the Filament Group, here.
The Pros & Cons of Icon Fonts
Icon fonts provide consistency, accessibility, and customization options while maintaining cross-browser compatibility. However, it’s essential to consider their pros and cons and choose the best icon format based on your specific design needs.
Here’s what you need to know about using icon fonts for UI design:
- Scalability: Icon fonts are vector-based, meaning they can be scaled up or down with no quality loss.
- Lightweight: Icon fonts are typically smaller in file size compared to image-based icons, reducing page load times and improving website performance.
- Ease of Use: Incorporating icon fonts into your UI design is straightforward. You can include them in your HTML and CSS, then style and size them.
- Consistency: Icon fonts provide a consistent look and feel across various devices and browsers.
- Customization: You can easily customize icon fonts by adjusting their size, color, and other CSS properties. This flexibility allows you to match icons to your project’s design.
- Accessibility: Icon fonts can be made accessible by adding appropriate aria-labels and roles, ensuring that screen readers can interpret their meanings to users with disabilities.
- Responsive Icons: Some icon fonts offer responsive features, allowing icons to adapt automatically to different contexts and orientations.
- Cross-Browser Compatibility: Icon fonts are widely supported by modern web browsers, making them a reliable choice for web design.
However, there are some limitations to consider:
- Limited Complexity: Icon fonts may not be suitable for complex or intricate icons that need multiple colors or fine details. In such cases, SVG icons might be a better choice.
- Icon Diversity: While icon fonts offer a wide variety of symbols, they might not cover every unique design requirement. You may need to create custom icons or combine them with other icon formats.
- Unicode Conflicts: Icon fonts use Unicode characters, which could conflict with actual text content if not managed correctly.
The Top Free Icon Fonts for UI Designers
Eva Icons Open Source UI Icon Set
480 Icons
These open-source icons include actions and items, from arrows and attachments to color palettes. With over 480 icons, it’s the whole package!
Ionicons Icon Pack for Ionic Framework
1,100+ Icons
Ionicons is a well-rounded icon pack for the Ionic framework. It includes numerous app icons (notifications, arrows, food, and more) and icons featuring renowned brands’ logos (e.g., Pinterest, Facebook, and others). You can download the outline, filled, or sharp icon renders as SVG or web font files.
Font Awesome
2,000+ Icons
Font Awesome is a hugely popular icon set with over 1,600 free icons. The FA gallery includes everything from brand logos to business and lifestyle icons.
Cryptofonts
1,250+ Free Icons, Icon Font
Line Awesome Icon Font
1,380 Icons
Add modern line icons to your projects with Line Awesome in just one line of code. It builds on Font Awesome, offering 1,000s of icons, from accessibility and buildings to arrows and brands. You can easily add them to your website (via CDN).
Dashicons, the WordPress Admin Icon Font
300+ Icons
Dashicons is an icon font for WordPress. It’s technical in style but gets the point across and is easy to use. From brand logos to TinyMCE, run wild!
Remix Icon Open Source Library
2,000+ Icons
Remix Icon is an open-source icon library with over 2,200 icons. All of the icons are free for personal and commercial use. You’ll get a wide variety of icons, from thin outline icons to filled symbols for extra emphasis. Download them as PNG, SVG, or code.
Themify Icon Font
320+ Icons
Inspired by Apple iOS, Themify icons offer over 300 beautiful minimalist icons. From arrows to app icons, you’ll get everything you need, such as an icon font for easier workflow integration (SVG included) or a plugin for WordPress. Themify icons are perfect for modern UI design!
Dripicons Line-Icon Font v.2
200 Icons
If you don’t want garden-variety line icons, check out Dripicons. This free icon font is incredibly easy to use, but the best part is that they’re beautiful! You’ll get a set of versatile bold line icons, from arrows and tech to education and music.
GitHub’s Octicons Icons
180 Icons
If you like GitHub’s aesthetic, you’ll love Octicons. These icons are available in two sizes (16px and 24px) and include some special-case icons, like pull requests. You can toggle between outline and filled icons, and they work well with different programming languages.
Foundation Icon Fonts
280 Icons
Get going with just a few lines of code and Foundation icons. This collection includes different sets, from general to accessibility icons, so there’s something for every project. Foundation icons work as a web font, so you don’t have to jump through hoops.
The Elegant Icon Font
360 Icons
Beautiful, elegant, and engaging – this icon font has over 300 icons. They’re simple to use, especially if you’ve used Elegant Themes or the Divi builder in the past. You will find everything you need, from file icons to arrows, in this set.
Feather Open Source Icon Set
282 Icons
Keep it simple with Feather, a collection of minimalist open-source icons. From arrows and chevrons to app UI icons, Feather is an excellent addition to your standard design toolbox. You can customize every icon’s size, stroke width, and color.
Typicons Icon Font
500+ Icons
Simple, friendly, and perfect for a wide range of projects, Typicons are a great choice. They are embedded in a web font, so they’re easy to use. You’ll get 336 icons, from cogs and arrows to brand logos. You can pick between filled icons or outlines.
Genericons Neue Icon Font
100 Icons
Simplify your design with Genericons, a set of simple and minimalist web and app design icons. They work well for blogs or simple websites where you want to keep the focus on your messaging. You’ll get plenty of icons for key features, from sitemaps to RSS feeds.
Microns Icon Font
164 Icons
Microns take pride in their simplicity. The collection includes icons for the most common use cases, from charts and arrows to navigation. They’re easy to encode, and the file is only 5kb, so they’re perfect for use across your project portfolio.
Stroke 7 Icon Font
200+ Icons
Straight out of the Pixeden workshop, Stroke 7 is a collection of thin-line icons. The set offers 200+ icons that can be customized with CSS. The icons are minimalist, so they won’t distract from your main message.
Stroke Icon Font Vol.1
80 Icons
Petras Nargela designed this set of 80 free icons. These beautiful, fresh, clean icons can be downloaded as PSD, AI, or web font files. If you need something different, you’ve found it!
Material Design Iconic Font
Created by Google, the Material Design icon set contains plenty of icons you can use across your projects. You just have to add one line of code to your website, and you’re good to go! Since community members constantly add icons, there’s plenty of variety.
CSSans Pro CSS Font
CSSans is a colorful and dynamic CSS font. It’s composed of multiple colorful geometric elements that add vibrancy to your designs. CSSans is all about personality! It’s infinitely customizable.
MFG Labs Icon Set
120 Icons
The MFG Labs icon set was originally designed for an internal project, but the team couldn’t resist sharing this icon set. They’re easily embeddable and customizable with CSS. You’ll find all the icons necessary to create the right atmosphere for your next design.
Ligature Symbols Icon Font
240 Icons
Ligature Symbols is an icon font with fun and minimalist icons. Individual icons can be combined to create ligatures (e.g., combine table and cell icons to create grids), improving this collection’s usability. You’ll find everything you need here.
Devicon 2.0 Programming & Development Icon Font
180+ Icons
Devicons are friendly, developer-friendly icons created to represent programming and tools. From Chrome and Confluence to Django and Illustrator, you’ll find the icon you’ve been looking for. You can easily copy-paste them into your projects using either the font or SVG versions.
Mini Icon Font Set
80 Icons
Simple and clean, these mini icons are perfect for a wide variety of projects, particularly those more formal in tone. The icon collection contains 80 icons in Photoshop PSD and font formats. From download/upload symbols to location and weather icons, this set offers every icon you need!
Helium Icon Set & Font
100 Icons
Taras Shypka’s Helium icon set offers plenty of icons. Not only do they come in every format imaginable, but you can also use them as an icon font. You’ll get 112 icons with fine-shaded lines.
Gonzocons 2.0 Line Icons
100 Icons
Gonzocons, designed by Jan Rajtoral, includes 100 line-style icons that perfectly replicate modern icon design trends. From simplistic arrows to buoyant hearts and hourglasses, Gonzocons icons definitely have a personality. You can get them as SVG files or as a web font for easier integration with your app or site.
Map Icon Marker Font
180 Icons
Map Icons is an icon font made for Google Maps and Places. You can customize them with CSS, and pick from over 180 icons. From general icons for hair salons to icons for activities, this set gives you plenty to choose from to make your next project amazing.
Top Free Weather Icon Fonts
Weather Themed Icon Font
222 Icons
If accurate forecasts are important to your next project, you’ll love this set of weather-themed icons. With over 200 icons (including specialty icons like 28 lunar phases), you’ll be ready to create something amazing! You can easily customize them with CSS to fit your needs.
Meteocons Weather Icon Font
40 Icons
Get 40+ minimalist and friendly weather icons with Meteocons. This set offers every format imaginable, from SVG to desktop and web fonts. They’re free to use personally and commercially, and you can even create a custom font with the icons you frequently use.
Top Free Social Media Icon Fonts
Socialicious Social Media Icon Library
74 Icons
If you’re looking for incredible social icons, check out Socialicious. It gives you social media icons in font form, so they’re incredibly easy to use and even easier to customize. Integrate them with a single line of code and customize them with CSS.
Mono Social Icons Font
100 Icons
Engaging and dynamic, Mono Social are social media icons with a fun personality. You can use them for free and pick one of the three options (rounded, circle, regular) to fit your style. Use them with CSS, HTML, and SCSS. They’re free for personal and commercial use.
How to Use Icon Fonts
Adding icon fonts to a project typically involves a few simple steps. Here’s a general guide on how you can add icon fonts to your own web or UI project:
- Choose an Icon Font Library: Select an icon font library from above that suits your project’s needs.
- Download or Link to the Icon Font: You can download the icon font files and host them on your server or link to them via a CDN. Many icon font libraries offer both options.
- Include the CSS Stylesheet: Link to the icon font’s CSS stylesheet in your HTML document’s
headsection. This stylesheet contains the necessary CSS rules to display the icons correctly.<link rel="stylesheet" href="path/to/icon-font.css"> - Add Icon Elements to Your HTML: In your HTML markup, create elements (e.g.,
i,span, ordiv) with appropriate class names to represent the icons you want to use. Assign the class names provided by the icon font library.<i class="fas fa-heart"></i> <!-- Font Awesome Heart Icon <i class="material-icons">star</i> <!-- Material Icons Star Icon - Style & Customize Icons: You can customize the icons by applying CSS styles to the elements. Adjust size, color, and other properties.
- Accessibility Considerations: Make sure your icons are accessible by providing alternative text or labels when necessary. This is important for users who rely on screen readers.
<i class="fas fa-envelope" aria-label="Email"></i> - Testing & Optimization: Test your icon fonts across different browsers and devices to ensure consistent rendering. Optimize your project for performance by minimizing the number of icon requests and reducing file sizes.
- Documentation & Maintenance: Document the icon classes you're using and keep track of any customizations for future reference and maintenance.
Refer to the documentation of each icon font for more detailed instructions.
Icon Font FAQs
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What are Icon Fonts?Icon fonts consist of symbols and glyphs, offering a visual alternative to standard letters and numbers. In UI design, they're used to add scalable, styleable icons.
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Why Use Icon Fonts in UI Design?Icon fonts are popular in UI design because they're lightweight, scalable, and easy to style with CSS. They ensure icons look sharp on all screen sizes.
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Can I Customize These Icon Fonts?While you can't directly edit the icons in the font, you can use CSS to customize their appearance, like changing colors and size or adding effects like shadows.
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Are Icon Fonts Compatible with All Browsers?Most modern browsers support icon fonts. However, testing your design in different browsers is always good to ensure compatibility and consistent appearance.
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Can I Use Icon Fonts for Both Web and Mobile UI Design?Icon fonts are suitable for both web and mobile UIs. Their scalability and customization options make them a versatile choice for any platform.
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How Do Icon Fonts Differ from SVG Icons?Icon fonts are a collection of icons as font characters, which makes them easy to scale and style with CSS. SVG icons are individual vector images with more complex designs and colors. Both are scalable, but SVGs offer more design details.
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How Do I Ensure Accessibility with Icon Fonts?For accessibility, always provide proper text alternatives (like "alt" text) for screen readers.
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Will Icon Fonts Slow Down My Website?Generally, icon fonts are lightweight and shouldn't significantly impact your website's loading speed. They are often more efficient than using many individual image files.
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