Icon search engine(iconfinder.com)
iconfinder.com
Icon search engine
http://www.iconfinder.com
32 comments
I have been using IconFinder.com for years now and I can attest that it is the best icon search engine out there. Almost all icons used in VWO come from there. I just wish that icon library was more comprehensive that what it is now but all in all, a well-executed site.
Thanks, man. I love your tool and I'm happy to provide you with icons.
Every week I add 10 new icon sets so the icon library is growing. I have chosen not to let the users upload icons directly to make sure the quality is high.
Every week I add 10 new icon sets so the icon library is growing. I have chosen not to let the users upload icons directly to make sure the quality is high.
I have been using this for months and the interface is really good and the rights management filter is a very nice touch.
I am hoping it starts indexing/storing vector files soon or maybe have accounts for the artist/shops behind the icons so that people can easily contact then hire them from the site itself.
I am hoping it starts indexing/storing vector files soon or maybe have accounts for the artist/shops behind the icons so that people can easily contact then hire them from the site itself.
Adding vector version of the icons are definitely next step content-wise.
The account for designers is a feature that is planned and coming within 2 months.
The account for designers is a feature that is planned and coming within 2 months.
Looks pretty much like findicons.com.
http://www.iconfinder.com/search/?q=rss
http://findicons.com/search/rss
http://www.iconfinder.com/search/?q=rss
http://findicons.com/search/rss
Yes, findicons copied my site in February 2010. Iconfinder launched in 2007.
Whoops, sorry. I assumed that "Show HN" meant your site was newer.
What are you hoping to gain by the "Show HN" post?
Feedback from the smart users on Hacker News.
they totally ripped your UI, did you attempt to contact them?
I did but they didn't answer. I really think it's a waste of time. Even though they have some users I can't see any effect on the growth on Iconfinder.com
I have chosen to focus on delivering the best service and hope the users will notice.
I have chosen to focus on delivering the best service and hope the users will notice.
Nice service, just tried searching "save" and I find it funny that what apparently is the standard icon still shows a floppy disk. Somebody should survey 10 year old kids if they know what it means..
We still use a Manila folder for a directory, even though people rarely use cardboard folders anymore.
In fact, we still call them Manila folders - but everyone's forgotten that the "Manila" part of the name comes from the fact that they were made from Manila hemp, a fiber produced in the Philippines.
Language is made of these kinds of artifacts - written, spoken, and visual language.
In fact, we still call them Manila folders - but everyone's forgotten that the "Manila" part of the name comes from the fact that they were made from Manila hemp, a fiber produced in the Philippines.
Language is made of these kinds of artifacts - written, spoken, and visual language.
I think the floppy icon will stick around a while longer. How many times have you heard the rotary phone ringing bell sound used as a ring tone lately?
You have a point there, but I suspect the actual reason for the rotary-phone sound's continuing popularity is that all of the other stock iPhone ringtones are lame as hell.
Don't forget to ask about the copy-and-paste glue pot and brush (or artist's oblong wooden paint palette) while you're at it.
It's pretty common for the original meaning of symbols to disappear into the mists of time. Using a floppy for 'save' seems like a good one to add to humanity's set of 21st Century pictographs.
It's pretty common for the original meaning of symbols to disappear into the mists of time. Using a floppy for 'save' seems like a good one to add to humanity's set of 21st Century pictographs.
Of course they know what it is - it's the 'save icon' :)
Wait, it used to be real?!
I'll bet before the floppy disk icon gets a chance to be replaced, the concept of manually saving files will be obsolete. It just might serve us 'til the end.
Right. It's been long enough since it appeared in R&D labs, that orthogonal persistence should become the norm. OS X already has it in the System Preferences.
I don’t think there is a Save command anywhere in the default iPad apps or the iWork apps. Even Office could easily switch away from forcing the users to save. They already have this nice, big menu with recent documents in their newest version, all they need to do is rework that into a sort of library of all documents. Then my dad, too, would no longer be confused by saving Word documents.
I don't like it when 'Save' is greyed out on Google Docs. I'd rather have it auto-saving and removing an asterisk that indicates changes have been made. Then I could see that I don't need to save, but still get the satisfaction of mashing the little save button (which evokes a warm and fuzzy feeling of safety).
Not sure if you saw it, but in Apple's 10.7 preview last week, they announced one of the new OS features as being 'auto-save'. Presumably, this means some kind of automatic saving infrastructure, rather than just telling developers they should be doing it.
Well, motion pictures are still called "films". And letters still have serifs on them, despite the original reason for it (easier to engrave in stone) no longer being valid.
I'd really like a citation for serifs being easier to engrave in stone. That really doesn't make sense to me. I'd expect things like runes -- entirely straight lines, minimal decoration -- to be easier to carve.
when you're using a chisel on stone. you need to hit it straight down, creating a divet (the serif) to get the cut started.
If you put the chisel diagonal and hit it with a hammer right off the bat, it just slides across the stone, and you usually hurt your thumb ;)
If you put the chisel diagonal and hit it with a hammer right off the bat, it just slides across the stone, and you usually hurt your thumb ;)
That doesn't seem all that implausible, but I'd expect the divot wouldn't need to be any wider than rest of the line.
The save icon on Ubuntu's default theme uses a downward arrow pointing at a hard disk. While not entirely relevant, even clear looks icon theme in Gnome uses a downward arrow pointing to a rack in a file cabinet.
The save icon on Ubuntu's default theme uses a downward arrow pointing at a hard disk.
With the move towards Flash SSDs, even this is going to become quaint. If Apple keeps going the direction it is now, OS X or its successor is going to have orthogonal persistence cached on local SSDs and replicated in the cloud. Eventually, no one is going to even think about saving things anymore.
With the move towards Flash SSDs, even this is going to become quaint. If Apple keeps going the direction it is now, OS X or its successor is going to have orthogonal persistence cached on local SSDs and replicated in the cloud. Eventually, no one is going to even think about saving things anymore.
Nifty. Only the info window is 38px too far left in FF 3.6.11: http://imgur.com/M7546.png
I'll fix that.
I dont understand why people dont use consistent icons on their apps.
I always choose an icon set (Oxygen, Tango, etc) and use it for whole project. Sometimes there are missing icons, but i think its worth the consistency i get.
Same style and same palette for all my icons.
I always choose an icon set (Oxygen, Tango, etc) and use it for whole project. Sometimes there are missing icons, but i think its worth the consistency i get.
Same style and same palette for all my icons.
Most of the icons on the site are part of an icon set which is easily found. Been using IconFinder for a short while and it's a great service.
Speaking of icons, I'm pretty much only interested in vector icons, because I can resize them any way I want and I'm doing the quality control when converting to PNG etc.
Bitmap icon quality, even the ones based on original vector artwork, are sometimes simply not up to my standards. My favorite free icon collection is the "Tango" collection, but it is also lacking in a few ways.
So I'm looking for another decent free or commercial vector collection that I can use for my projects. Most of the icon collections I see are selling bitmap versions only. Any ideas?
Bitmap icon quality, even the ones based on original vector artwork, are sometimes simply not up to my standards. My favorite free icon collection is the "Tango" collection, but it is also lacking in a few ways.
So I'm looking for another decent free or commercial vector collection that I can use for my projects. Most of the icon collections I see are selling bitmap versions only. Any ideas?
These are probably the best vector icons out there: http://helveticons.ch/
Thanks for the tip. I see they are all single-color, but that's not really a problem since customizing them with colors or gradients is simple to do in Inkscape or Illustrator.
That's just really nice and super helpful... Seems as though you have highly targeted content but have no real monetization. What are your plans for monetization?
I'm planning to have have a premium area where paying users can get access to quality icons.
The site has been up for 3 years without monetization? Has it just been on the backburner?
It launched 2007, but it really took off in 2009. I'm still in school so I haven't had that much time to work on it.
I'm doing ok from ads now and it is growing fast, so when I finish school in 2 months, I'm going to work on monetizing.
You can see the growth compared to Dropbox.com and Ycombinator.com: http://icnf.me/brcjhH
You can see the growth compared to Dropbox.com and Ycombinator.com: http://icnf.me/brcjhH
This may already be supported somehow, or otherwise planned, but one obvious way to monetize might be to act as a broker for contract designers. As a user, if I search for an icon and either don't find one that works for me, or find only icons with incompatible license terms, then the next thing I'm going to want to do is find someone who can design what I want. This is also going to be true in the event that I need a whole set of icons with a common motif or color/design scheme.
No matter how good a search engine like yours is, most of its users will be at least partially unsatisfied, and you may be able to turn that into an advantage. It might also be a good way to stand out from the copycat sites.
No matter how good a search engine like yours is, most of its users will be at least partially unsatisfied, and you may be able to turn that into an advantage. It might also be a good way to stand out from the copycat sites.
It is not supported but I think it's a great idea. Perhaps doing something like 99designs, where jobs are posted and then icon designers can choose to upload their work. The designer who is chosen will win the "auction".
Looks great. Makes me wish I had something that needs icons!
The one thing that was a bit odd to me was the way the tiled icons don't often fill out the last line, even when there are many more pages of results. Typically an incomplete grid sends a message that this is the last page of results.
The one thing that was a bit odd to me was the way the tiled icons don't often fill out the last line, even when there are many more pages of results. Typically an incomplete grid sends a message that this is the last page of results.
Thank you for the feedback. The last row is always a bit of a headache. Google Images an iStockphoto solves the problem by having results from the next page shown to fill out the last row. So you'll get duplicate results in the search results - maybe that is the best solution.
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Switched from iconlet. I really like it. The commercial usage filter is a killer feature. Great job!
I created an account using Chrome but only the username seems to have been saved. Trying to edit my account results in a white screen so I can't add an email address or change my password. They username I signed up with is "abrahamwilliams"
I fixed the bug - it should be working again.
This is great. Sometimes all you need is just a quick Facebook like button.
It's a great way to discover icons. Of course, you would usually want to use only icons from a single icon set, so your icons become consistent through your application.
However, sometimes you get into trouble when the set doesn't have a particular icon. This site could be a life saver if you don't have any budget to contact the original designer and ask for custom work.
Good job iconfinder
It's a great way to discover icons. Of course, you would usually want to use only icons from a single icon set, so your icons become consistent through your application.
However, sometimes you get into trouble when the set doesn't have a particular icon. This site could be a life saver if you don't have any budget to contact the original designer and ask for custom work.
Good job iconfinder
You can search the different icon sets - just go to iconfinder.com/browse
When you have found a great icon set you can add a search term to the search query e.g. http://www.iconfinder.com/search/?q=iconset:duesseldorf+star
It works like Google when using the filtype: or site: keywords.
When you have found a great icon set you can add a search term to the search query e.g. http://www.iconfinder.com/search/?q=iconset:duesseldorf+star
It works like Google when using the filtype: or site: keywords.
I would say its not legal. Many icons are licensed "for personal use only". So putting them on a website with advertising seems to be against the license.
I only put icons with this license on the site when I have permission from the author.
Ah, ok! Didnt think of that.
I saw one that had a free for commercial use only licence. That was different.
We use the floppy disk for the save icon, but we don't use floppies anymore. Just something that has been bothering me.
We also don't throw our floppy disks into a trash can to eject them, but that's what the "intuitive" Mac interface proposed, all those years ago.
If these things bother you, you probably shouldn't study etymology. Most words (and concepts) retain leftover residues of previous strata of meaning. Such is change...
If these things bother you, you probably shouldn't study etymology. Most words (and concepts) retain leftover residues of previous strata of meaning. Such is change...
>> what the "intuitive" Mac interface proposed, all those years ago.
Actually, studying etymology (which probably doesn't stand for icons yet) is fun because of that reason.
Even our letters are left overs from old icons. Alpha for the ox, Beta for the house. I am just suggesting that the floppy probably won't have its letter someday.
Even our letters are left overs from old icons. Alpha for the ox, Beta for the house. I am just suggesting that the floppy probably won't have its letter someday.
I have made a blog post related to the choice of metaphors for icons: http://www.iconfinder.com/blog/4/
You made a good point. Those floppy disk icons probably mean nothing to Gen X.
I'll refrain from using that icon on my websites/apps from now on.
I'll refrain from using that icon on my websites/apps from now on.
What would you propose as a "save" icon?
Save everything. Don't make the user click save. Even better if you can allow a rollback to any point in time. Better still if you can roll back to significant changes, with significant determined in terms of the domain context.
kb
kb
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Very very nice. Is there any way to categorize icon styles or qualities as well? An example after background colour and file format I would need: "Web 2.0-styled" or "cool/warm". I find the only time I page through search results is looking for specific style qualities.
Thanks. Categories are coming within a month.
this is great, I was using google images up until now for this... not anymore
It has been around for awhile, been using it since about 2008. Cool service.
2007
Went and did a search on my email, the first time I recommenced it to someone else was the 13th Oct 2007. So yeah 2007 it is!
First place I go when I seek a new icon. Simply perfect and easy to use.
I searched for "Sword". Got a bunch of pictures of locks and keys. :P
It searches for both "sword" and "%sword%" (with wildcards in both ends). It ranks results with exact match for "sword" higher than wildcard matches and what you are seeing are icons with the keyword "pasSWORD" since it hits "%sword%"
Absolutely love the design. Did you hire someone to do it?
I did the design, but not the logo. The logo was done by the talented TurboMilk -> http://www.turbomilk.com
They also did a nice illustration for the 404 page: http://www.iconfinder.com/pagenotfound
They also did a nice illustration for the 404 page: http://www.iconfinder.com/pagenotfound
awesome. this definitely beats office clip art search. You should maybe have a section "User's who downloaded this ...also downloaded X icon"
Thanks. That's not a bad idea.
Really useful site. The usual method for myself is to use advanced filters through google, but this is definitely more optimized.
That is fantastically useful, thank you.
The main problem I observe using iconfinder.com is the mess with different licenses selecting desire icons.
This is not just a problem for iconfinder.com but for icons and free web design stuff in general.
I mean the lack of fine grain the search.
How can there not be a bacon icon?!
No narwhal icons either - sorry to let you down.
It's been my go-to icon search for a long time, but how are you bringing in revenue?
It is only ad-based revenue at the moment and with 14MM per month it gives an ok revenue. I'm planning to add premium content in the coming months.
Would you consider paying for high quality icons?
Would you consider paying for high quality icons?
I'd consider paying for the ability to use some icons for commercial purposes. Perhaps you could get some sort of affiliate program going? Then you could add another rights type - 'Allowed for commercial use (purchase)' or something like that. Then you could start allowing designers to offer their icons directly. A centralized place for purchased icons would be much nicer than what you have to do now - search all over the web and trudge through lots of designer's websites to try and find what you're looking for.
Icon search engine: images.google.com, include the word icon, or specify size
Yeah, you can compare the results here:
http://www.iconfinder.com/search/?q=computer
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&safe=off&biw=1342...
http://www.iconfinder.com/search/?q=computer
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&safe=off&biw=1342...
This is fantastic. Thanks for sharing. This will save me many hours.
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great service, one of the best.