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| At Iconica Custom Icons our utmost priority is to work closely and diligently with our developers by creating visually rich and meaningful icon metaphors for every custom icon we design for your project. Before we begin an icon project we meticulously review and research all your requirements to guarantee that your final icons are presented in the most perfect visual form possible according to your specific needs. Our many years of experience in the field of icon design, working with both large corporations and small companies, have allowed us to fine-tune our workflow. We easily adjust to all the different and unique requirements our developers present us with on every project. We listen closely to you, we research all your ideas and we offer you our time and full effort until every icon in your software or web project is exactly what you expected and more. We never limit the amount of revisions you can make and we'll remain constant until your icons project is perfect in every way. |
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 Designing the icon masters in vector format allows for a greater advantage because vector based graphics are always resolution independent. The master vectors are completely resizable, upsizing as well as downsizing, giving the best results no matter what your icon sizing requirements are. We use Adobe Illustrator© for all our master icon design as it is the industry standard software for all vector development. |
| Below is a screenshot of a windows 7 - vista style icon being designed in Illustrator. The vector on the left is the final Windows 7 and Vista icon. The center image is the vector icon with all it's paths and points selected. The image on the right is the icon in outline mode which shows every path which makes up this image in better detail as outline mode removes the colors. This specific vector icon is made up of 178 unique paths, 6 being compound paths and 3,871 points. |
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| At the start of every icon project we create a custom artboard in Illustrator which will hold every icon we will be designing. Developing the icons on this single large artboard sheet guarantees that all icons will be consistent in style, perspective and color scheme. In it's vector master state each single icon will be tweaked and edited. We edit points and paths, refine colors and gradients and measure out perspectives until each icon being developed meets your strict criteria. Once the image is final as a vector master we then import it into Adobe Photoshop© to raster the image and create all the icon sizes needed according to the project's requirements. We then tweak each of these sizes even further, pixel by pixel, so that all sizes look their very best. Previews of all the works in progress are transferred to the developers on a daily basis for their review, comments and revisions. Any time during the project's duration when the developers requests revisions and changes we always go back to the original master vectors and make the suggested changes in that first stage. We then proceed through the complete vector/raster process again, as many times as necessary, until the developer is satisfied with the results and chooses the finals. |
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| In Photoshop we create another large file that will hold all the icons so that we can continue to maintain consistency in color, perspectives and style throughout all the images being developed. Below is a screenshot of just a few of the icons at all sizes being worked on in Photoshop in the larger master raster file. These custom icons are from our NoMoreClipboard project developed for Medical Informatics Engineering. |
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| If the icon requirements are also to create 256 color icons for backwards compatibility with older operating systems it is at this point that we also develop these additional images and sizes. Every size and color resolution is developed individually and each one is edited pixel by pixel according to it's size so that each one looks it's best at final. In some instances the smallest sizes, such as the 24 and 16 pixel versions, are usually simplified even further or completely redone to achieve the best results for these smallest icons. Iconica Custom Icons never uses any type of automation throughout any of the steps in our custom icon development. Each and every icon we develop is created with the utmost care and attention to detail. All sizes and resolutions are edited and crafted manually and individually, point by point while vectors, and pixel by pixel in their raster formats. We strongly believe that achieving perfection in icon design is a detailed process that can not and should not be automated. Every size and every resolution of the icons is unique so each one demands different treatment in it's development period. |
| If the project being developed is for web icons and graphics these master files will be saved in the required web image formats such as JPG, PNG or GIF in the sizes needed. A web project would be final at this point. If the project is a software icons project this is the stage where the full icon resources (.ico) will be developed. |
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| Iconica Custom Icons uses two applications to develop the icon resources using the raster master files. We use Axialis IconWorkshop© or GIF Movie Gear for Icons©. Axialis IconWorkshop has added the capability for developing the new Vista icon resources so this icon creation software is always our first choice. |
| Below you can see a full Windows Vista icon resource we've created with some of the sizes and resolutions it includes visible in the center image format list. Windows 7 icons and Vista icons also include the 256 x 256 pixel size which which is the size that's selected in the center image format list in this screenshot. |
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| Once all full icon resources are finished for a software project all the files produced during the development process are transferred to the developer. |
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 You/your company will always own the full copyrights to all custom icons and images created. You/your company are the exclusive owners of any icons developed for you as custom icons. |
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Stock icons are copyrighted to the stock icon company that developed the stock set. You do not own stock icon sets even though you pay a licensing fee for their use. |
| Every custom icon and image created for your software or web project will be unique and exclusive only to your product. You will never see your custom icons anywhere but in your application or website. |
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Stock icons are licensed to any company or individual who pays the licensing fee for their use. You will see the same stock icon sets used in a multitude of software and web products. |
| Custom software icons or custom web icons created for your product will never be resold to any other company. |
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Stock icons are licensed to anyone who pays the licensing fee for their use. There is no limit as to how many times a stock icons set can be licensed. |
| With custom icons you always have full control of their style, design, color scheme, metaphor ideas and the amount of changes you wish to make at any time from the project's start date to it's completion. |
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Stock icons only include standard function metaphors. Most developers will have to supplement stock icon sets with custom icons for their software's more specific functions and features. |
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| Allow Iconica Icons to develop the perfect icons for your software or website. Be sure to contact us today, we look forward to hearing from you! |
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