Background

About the project

My role: Graphic Design (Independent)

Timeline: 2 months, November - December 2014

Tools: Adobe Illustrator

Why did I do this?

In 8th grade (2014), I was really bored after school and I was looking for an easy way to make some money that didn't require a car. I'd heard of the Noun Project before, and when I found out that designers could earn royalties for uploading icons, I jumped at the opportunity. As my first exposure to digital design, this project introduced me to the field of human-centered design that still fascinates me today!

Exploration

Early work

I started teaching myself Illustrator with a free course on Skillshare, in which the project was to illustrate a day in my life using icons. My first icons illustrated the mundanities of my day as a middle schooler.

A day in the life of 8th grade Annie.
Inspiration

Design for accessibility

As I continued exploring, I wanted to use icons to facilitate more meaningful communication. The following collections were inspired by my own struggles to teach my grandmother in China how to use her laptop and iPhone over video calls.

Video-calling my adorable (and surprisingly tech-savvy) grandma in China and trying to help her set up iCloud photos.
Outcome

Final collections

I wanted to use the visual language of icons to help people overcome language barriers to learning technology. This was my first exploration in using design to make technology more accessible.

Smartphone and Trackpad Gestures Collections
iPhone Apps Collection


Since I started in December 2014, I now have over 120 icons published on the Noun Project which have accumulated over 40,000 total downloads.

Check out my full profile on the Noun Project.