UI/UX design

Stage 2 · Lesson 7 of 7

Icons, images and illustration

Visual design fundamentals

speed up recognition only when people already know them: a magnifying glass for search, a house for home. Unfamiliar or abstract icons need a text label beside them. A button that shows only an icon still needs an , the text a speaks aloud.

Use one icon set, with the same line thickness and size throughout, lined up with your text. Images should do a job, such as showing the product or the person. Keep their shapes and cropping consistent.

Check the licence for every icon, photo and illustration you use. Later, icons become parts of components such as buttons and inputs.

Common trapmixing icon styles from different sets, or using decorative stock photos that push useful content .

A question to check yourself, an AI practice session and 1 cheat sheet entry come with the full roadmap. Unlock

Resources for this stage

Start with· follow one of these

  • GuideFree
    Material Design 3

    Google

    Free, detailed foundations on layout, colour roles and type scales from a system used by millions of apps

  • BookPaid
    Refactoring UI

    Adam Wathan and Steve Schoger · About $99

    Paid, practical visual design tactics explained for people without a design background

Practise

  • Professional designs to build from, which teach spacing and type by making you match them

Keep handy

  • Check every text and background pair against WCAG contrast ratios in seconds

  • Proximity, similarity and common region explained with examples, for when grouping feels off

Also worth your time

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