I hate icons.
Scratch that. I hate looking for icons when I need them.
Sometimes I get stuck for literally an hour or so doing that.
And it’s not that there’s not enough high-quality stuff out there. On the contrary, there are tons of icons, icon packs, icon types, icon styles, and so on. It’s just that finding that one right icon is like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Then, once you do manage to stumble upon something that looks okay-ish, you still need to adjust it on your own. Change the size, the color, convert to the right format. Only then you can copy it to Photoshop or wherever other tool you’re using.
All of that takes time.
So in the end, I guess what I really hate is the process, not the icons themselves.
Solution?
It seems that the guys over at Icons8 understand the frustration too.
They’ve actually released a new app for Mac and Windows that’s meant to solve this problem for us and speed things up quite a bit.
The app is called Icons8 App. Let’s look into what it has to offer:
What is Icons8 App?
In short, it’s a small piece of software that resides in your menu bar (or task bar) and gives you direct access to more than 14,000 built-in icons.
Some of the more important details:
- The icons are stored offline (no need to download them on the fly).
- You can adjust them right inside the app itself. This includes recoloring, resizing, converting to whatever format.
- You can get your icons in .PNG, .SVG, .PDF, and .EPS.
- Drag and drop any icon straight from the app to other tools like, Photoshop, Visual Studio, Sketch, Xcode, and etc. Heck, even dragging and dropping straight to a WordPress post works flawlessly.
- There’s fast search and categorization. The built-in search engine seems to be very well thought through, with all the right tags assigned to every icon.
- For instance, searching for “ok” will give you a checkmark icon even though the file name doesn’t have “ok” anywhere in it. On top of that, if you’ve found an icon that’s only somewhat in tune with what you need, you can search for similar icons (right click > Find similar).
- There are different icon packs (or icon styles) available.
- For instance, you can view colorized icons only, iOS-styled ones, Android-styled, and so on. There’s even a nice set built with Windows 10 in mind.
I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical at first. After all, searching for icons through an app shouldn’t be all that different from doing so online.
But Icons8 App really makes everything much more straightforward. The main value of the app is that it lets you do everything in one place (adjust, colorize, resize, then drag-and-drop), instead of having to use third-party apps, which would effectively prolong the whole process.
In the end, I’m impressed, so the app stays installed on my computer. At least for the time being.
But there’s a catch.
The icons that Icons8 delivers are distributed under the freemium model. What this means is that you can only export PNGs up to 64x64px (and then use them in exchange for a link). To unlock all formats and sizes, you’re going to need a premium license, which is $199.
BUT
That’s where the giveaway comes into play
Since Icons8 is in a promotional mood right now, they’ve offered us a cool giveaway.
Particularly:
You can get a one-year subscription to Icons8’s “Vector Man” plan, which gives you access to:
- PNG icon files in all sizes.
- All vector formats and sizes (.SVG, .EPS, .PDF, .AI, .PSD).
- No requirement to link to Icons8 when using the icons.
- 6,000-8,000 new icons added every year.
There are only 3 licenses available.
See below for the rules and info on how to get on board:
Touchdown!
The giveaway has ended and this are the lucky winners:
- Joao Mateus Scarpa
- Vladimir Gorodji
- Stéphanie Mercier
All winners will be contacted via email within 24 hours regarding the prize.
Alex Aug 2, 2015, 1:49 pm
I like that you can edit and convert the icons to whatever you need within the app, as you mentioned, this helps with the entire process!
Marian Tofoleanu Aug 2, 2015, 5:29 pm
I love that app!
Andor Nagy Aug 2, 2015, 6:46 pm
Would be a very useful addition to my resource collection.
Rem Aug 4, 2015, 6:16 pm
This is magix app. <3
Handicapper pro Aug 4, 2015, 6:17 pm
I hope to win this one!
Tom Aug 4, 2015, 6:21 pm
The most useful and handy app in icons’ world. Great help for developer. For the future, would be great to have available presets for standard icon sizes for iOS/MacOSX developers.
Katelyn Colombo Aug 4, 2015, 6:23 pm
I love the built-in search engine!
Gregor Govtvan Aug 4, 2015, 6:29 pm
Nice app for icon-search.
snupo Aug 4, 2015, 6:30 pm
is very useful to resize the icons without leaving the app and get the icon ready to use
Tiago Carrão Aug 4, 2015, 6:32 pm
What a great tool, thousands of icons at your fingertips!
Radu Aug 4, 2015, 6:33 pm
I would pay for this :d
Stéphanie Aug 4, 2015, 6:49 pm
Great tool! The built-in search engine makes it very useful.
heru Aug 4, 2015, 6:52 pm
I like the built in search engine
Jay Aug 4, 2015, 6:52 pm
I love that everything about their program! Cool thing I like is the search function/
Renée Aug 4, 2015, 7:00 pm
I second Alex’s post! “Editing and converting the icons to whatever you need within the app” is absolutely fantastic.
ferrbea Aug 4, 2015, 7:04 pm
being able to change icons color is the best feature ever!
Jenn Aug 4, 2015, 7:25 pm
For a new designer, like myself, this kind of utility would not only help me learn but also help streamline my process for my clients. It’s pretty invaluable.
Adrian Aug 4, 2015, 7:26 pm
Nice App! The converting feature is absolutely my favorite!
Laurenz Aug 4, 2015, 7:27 pm
I love it. It helps me a lot with my work.
Nazar Aug 4, 2015, 7:41 pm
Cool icons
Christian Aug 4, 2015, 8:01 pm
Love it!
Molout Aug 4, 2015, 8:10 pm
brilliant!
Lana Aug 4, 2015, 8:27 pm
A useful and handy app in icons
vladi Aug 4, 2015, 8:31 pm
I love the possibility to search, change the color and export in one app. Great software!
Samantha Aug 4, 2015, 9:01 pm
Love the color options!
hellhoundsx Aug 4, 2015, 11:52 pm
Thanks for the giveaway, this sure will come in handy
Arun Aug 5, 2015, 12:09 am
Drag & drop would be pretty awesome!
Kendell Aug 5, 2015, 3:58 am
#GreatStuff
Marvin Heilemann Aug 5, 2015, 8:57 am
Thats really cool! I often have the problem to search hours of hours in the www for special icons. The feature to export in a app with modifie colors and size is such the best. Really brilliant!
Lars Aug 5, 2015, 8:58 am
Finally an icon-organizer
a Aug 5, 2015, 10:26 am
great app :D
Veat Aug 5, 2015, 10:48 am
nice!!!
Huy Aug 5, 2015, 11:49 am
What a great tool, thousands of icons at your fingertips!
Dallas Thiele Aug 5, 2015, 2:36 pm
The search and categorization would be a huge time savor for me.
Pinzi Aug 5, 2015, 4:51 pm
I really love that you have basically eerything covered in one app, so that there is no need to search hours for files stored on your disk, or browse the internet for ages. Most of the times I end up designing my own icons, but this tool comes in very useful to save a lot of time.
Clarence Aug 5, 2015, 5:10 pm
As a web designer who prototypes often, I love to be able to quickly search through the staggering number of icons, all neatly categorized and incorporate them into my designs swiftly. And changing color palettes on-the-fly too!
Nathan Aug 6, 2015, 1:42 am
That’s gonna be nice!
Maicol Aug 6, 2015, 8:37 am
Icons 8 has always been super cool with their brand and what they do to help designers! Good luck everyone!
Christina Gillick Aug 6, 2015, 8:29 pm
I love this app! It’s going to save a lot of space in my Dropbox because I won’t have to sort, store, and find the perfect icons. Now I’ll just go to Icons8! :)