Although it is difficult to say no to a good picture, at Silo Creativo we prefer illustrations. We love our articles accompany by illustrations for two main reasons: We love icons, and we get the web much lighter (blame for this lies with Ricardo with his obsession with the loading rate. 🙂
So, it is time to dedicate an article to the illustrations, and therefore one of the main ways of using them in graphic and web design: the icons. These are a great tool to express what we want from a specific and very simple design.
Little by little they have been introduced into our subconscious, and as if we were talking about traffic signals, they have become the universal meaning of certain processes. Surely if we enter a website and see a cart, we have no doubt that from there we can buy; in the same way that if we see an envelope, it may be possibly the contact button.
As we have said many times the most important thing on a website is the text we have, what we write, so that icons can help us not write more text than necessary and can be a little more visual. There are many places in which to insert icons. Let’s see any of them!
Where to use icons on our website?
Here is the kicker. You can use them in almost every corner of the web. Although today we propose some, there are many more. Whenever they emphasize the text or create a nice visual effect, icons will get your goal. But beware! Do not turn your website in an Egyptian hieroglyph. The words are still very important. 🙂
Menu
Being universal, they are a good choice for use in places where too long words may disorganize the structure, for example in the menu. If you put a house, no one will doubt that icon takes you to the home page, saving the space that the word “home” takes. As we mentioned, there may also be a good option for contact too, where an envelope clearly will indicate you the function button.
Social Icons
This use is now almost standardised. The icons of social networks are known worldwide, so it is not necessary to write the full name of each of the networks. They can be substituted by icons.
We save space and make life easier to the web user showing things that can be described just with a picture.
Information icons post
When writing an article, usually at the end or the beginning of it, there is some information that we like to share with our readers. Data such as the number of comments, the author, category… It can also be expressed accompanied by an icon. I especially like this spot because I find it is a place where we can let our creativity fly.
Although some of these icons may be already certain, we can also give a different air and use some more creative icon, approaching a tangent to the meaning of the word they represent.
Icons to highlight a text
Clearly, the icons are a terrific resource to be the main image to a post. I think everybody knows that. 😉 But they are also a great resource to use before a text, for example for a service, when we are talking about a portfolio.
Although we can give a title to the accompanying text, if we include an icon the text will speak for itself. At first glance we can know what the text is about, so we get a greater visual impact.
Free database of icons
How could it be otherwise! Speaking of icons, we want to share with you some free database of icons from which you can download and use them in your web. As you can see there are several types to introduce: CSS, PNG, SVG… Depending on the needs you have, you can use the format that best suits.
Font awesome
It is the best resource to include icons through CSS. The database of icons has been expanded over time, so that we can find some more technical and more creative.
Although you can add any template code, some of our templates for WordPress as Adriana are adapted and can be entered as image services.
Iconmonstr
It is a good database of icons displayed by category. We can also download both PNG and SVG, and we can decide the size that we need. Although they appear in black we can vary the colour on the web or download editable formats.
Flaticon
It is perhaps one of the largest free databases of icons. However, although they are free, we must consider that we must make a mention of its author.
This database also allows downloading of icons in different formats, so they are very versatile. Of course, all icons are black, so to change the colour you should go to a publisher.
These are some of the largest free databases of icons, but there are many website where you can download for free a set of icons. I am sure that you will find the one that best suits your needs!
