Design an icon that prompts action.

ASSIGNMENT

Your assignment is to concept, sketch, and design an icon that prompts action around you.

We’ll go from developing your sign idea, to sketching thumbnails, to creating a more high-fidelity sketch, to vectorizing your final sign in Adobe Illustrator and ultimately creating what I call a "KindSign."

Pictogram signs are an incredibly powerful tool to change your surroundings in a way that’s meaningful to you. Get creative, and have fun with it!

The message you're communicating could be an everyday annoyance like “no cell phones at the dinner table” or a sign for your desk while you're in "do not disturb" mode; or a prompt for social change like “conserve water” or “recycle”; or even something more open to interpretation based on the context, such as the “creativity is a gift" sign below.

Remember, use your project workspace to immediately share your sign ideas, quickly get feedback from fellow students, and iterate on your KindSign.

Can't wait to see what you create!

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DELIVERABLE

Share your icon (a.k.a. KindSign) in the Project Gallery. A completed project will include:

3-6 thumbnail sketches
A high-fidelity sketch
Finalized, digitized icon
Bonus: Mockup! Show your sign in the real world.

Feel free to have a look at my sample project, "Conserve Water" for inspiration.

Don't wait 'til it's finished to start uploading your progress — share your initial ideas in the Project Gallery and get feedback from your fellow students to make the design better!

RESOURCES

Tools

The Noun Project (a directory of over 150,000 icons to get you started)
Illustrator Template (attached)

Links

Illustrate Your Day: An Intro to Symbol Design (my other free class)
Fundamentals of Illustrator I: The First Steps to Becoming a Pro Illustrator by Brad Woodard
Logo Design Fundamentals: Simple and Solid Brand Marks by George Bokhua
Icon Design: Create a Cohesive Icon Set by Adam Whitcroft

Books

The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of The Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester

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Edward Boatman

Co-founder, Noun Project

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