Other resources
The following is a list of resources for designing and working with icons. It includes image editors specifically made for creating and editing icons, design guidelines, custom-icon designers and some favorite icon utilities.
Image Editors
If you are using a simple bitmap editor or the
built-in icon editor in your developer environment,
it will be nearly impossible to produce a high
quality icon. Fortunately, icon editing software is
inexpensive, with plenty of choices below $50.
| Rating | Editor | Comments |
 |
IconCool | Easy-to-use editor ($19.95, screenshots) and expert studio ($39.95, screenshots) versions. 30-day trial. Lifetime Upgrades, 1000 XP icons. Many Awards. |
| Editor's choice | ||
|
Axialis Iconworkshop |
Available in $59.95 corporate and $34.95 personal versions (version comparison). 30-day trial version. Lifetime license. Supports Vista icons. |
|
|
Microangelo® Creation |
screenshots.
trial version. $54.95 For frequent icon editing a tookit with more tools (e.g. icon librarian) is available. |
|
|
IcoFX |
Freeware icon editor. screenshots. Supports Vista icons. Awards |
|
|
Adobe Photoshop CS2 | The premiere graphics editor (not just for icons). $589.99 ($59 off at Amazon). The best; but rather expensive if editing some icons and bitmaps is all you need to do. |
|
Editor's choice |
Paint Shop Pro X | "98% of Photoshop" at 8% of the price ($45.99 at Amazon). A decent image editor should be in every developers tookit. |
|
|
InkScape |
Open source SVG editor. Runs on many
systems.
Screenshots. |
|
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IconToAny | $19.95. Utility to convert icon files into many other formats: ICO, CUR, BMP, JPEG, GIF, PNG, PSD, TIFF, XBM, XPM, WBMP, RC |
Design Guidelines and Icon-related Articles
These articles cover the basics of icons. With all the variations in dimensions, color-depths, transparency and file formats, Icons can be more complex than you might think.
- What is
an Icon? The basics of Vista, XP, and OS X Tiger Icons.
- All about
application icons Discusses how the various icon sizes and color depths are
used by Windows (where 16x16 icons are used, 24x24, etc).
- Icon Formats.
Including how Windows decides which format to use.
- What's
New with Vista® Icons? An overview of Windows Vista icon format.
- What is a Windows Vista
icon? Another overview of Windows Vista icon format.
-
Creating Windows XP Icons
- Official Microsoft User-Experience-Team document.
-
Graphical history of Windows
Icons - From Windows 1.01 to Windows XP.
Favorite Icons
Articles and utilities related to favorite icons (the icons that show up beside an entry in your favorites list in Internet Explorer).
- FavOrg -
Small utility to update the icons in your favorites list in Internet Explorer
(requires utility library sign-in at PCMag.com - $8 and up)
- FavIconizer -
Small utility to refresh the icons in your Internet Explorer favorites menu.
Free download. Includes C++ source code.
- Add a
Favorite Icon to Your Web Site. How to associate an icon when your
site is added to the favorite menu in Internet Explorer.
- Free Online FavIcon generator tool. Upload an image. Download as a FavIcon.
Custom Icon Designers
Custom-designed icons are often available as a service from the vendors of the stock icon packages. If this is affordable, it is usually preferred method, since the original designer will be best able to maintain a consistent appearance throughout all of the icons.There are also a few alternatives to a custom-designed icon:
- Instead of getting a custom-made icon,
IconGalore sells individual icons ($3 per icon)
which is very cost-effective if you are able to find
a suitable icon.
- Design Outpost offers a system
where you post a job, along with a job price. Higher prices typically draw more
interest from the better designers. A
portfolio of past work is available.