Icons can be minimal or detailed, but their main is to communicate information to the user. A good icon should transcend language and be universally understandable.

Pictograms

Pictograms/ icons have been used to non-verbally represent information for centuries. The Olympic Games uses pictograms to represent sports, making them universally understandable to a worldwide audience- which is especially important to the Olympics, as the games are broadcasted in 160 different countries. From left to right, the pictograms below are dated from 1972, 2008 and 2014, yet their simple, understandable design is timeless.

To the left is the 2024 picotgram for ice hockey at the paric olympucs. instead of the more tradtional ‘stick figure’ represntation of the sport, the designers have gone for a more stylised depiction showing the games playing court and equipment. At first glance this is more difficult to determin what itnis depicting, but i think the symetrical design is unique.

Familiar Icons in UI

Pictured below is the Instagram navigational icons. These can be clearly understood to mean home, search, add, video and profile. These icons are minimal but nether the less effective. Each icon is consistent and uniform in their size thickness and colour, which is very important. People typically scan UI, not read, so making icons which are simple and understandable at a glance is crucial.

The Icons below are from Tumblr, and share a similar look to the Instagram ones, as simplicity works well. The icons represent home, search, messages and profile.

These are some other icons from Tumblr. They are clearly consistent in style with the previous icons. These represent search, customise blog, share and settings.