In this digitized world, icons are everywhere. They portray the essence and representation of brands, slogans, services, shortcuts, etc. Glancing across the net, you may notice that icons usually convey a message or simply represent an action. In simple terms, icons are drawings or graphics that are used as a communication tool in lieu of content and conversations.
It is common knowledge that if companies and businesses correctly use icons as a brand or as a representation of their websites, they not only save space and make the user experience interactive but also get widespread recognition for their brands and websites.
However, creating that perfect icon or icon effects that meets your standards and generates a ‘wow’ factor can be a daunting task, especially if do not have an option to instantly visualize changes in your icon. A few scenarios are as follows:
- How would your icon look in a different color/shades
- Will changing the background give the icon a more pleasing appearance
- What is the outlook if you tweak the icon through few changes in its graphics
- And more importantly, would adding an animation effect to your icon get you the desired outcome and ‘wow’ factor to your website
Liquidvid’s ‘Icon Effects’ is a smart software that analyzes your icon’s format and allows you to instantly view the changes in your icon’s design, type, color, shades, animation, background, etc.
Many factors may cause you to consider a change or include the icon effects on your website such as rebranding, added animation effects to create a positive impact on your customers, fresh outlook, etc.
Liquidvid lists outs the top 10 benefits of using icon effects in a website
#1 Build Up your Website Brand value:
An icon sends out a strong message of your brand. However, customers today buy the experience rather than the product itself. Your website should seem to be communicating with the customers in an easily understandable and memorable way. People tend to remember images more than the content and animated icon effects are the best way to convey your content’s message.
#2 Interesting things are easy to recollect:
Most big companies are going the interactive way. You should too. When you spend resources and time to build your website, it should bring you a lot of benefits and value in return. These could be profits, increase in brand value and recognition, affiliate income, etc. However, if your website is dull and has a stagnant approach, it is harder for your customers to recollect and recognize your website’s features and offerings. Adding animated icon effects that are interactive and create a two-way communication keeps your customer interested and engaged with your website content and offerings.
#3 Space constraint challenges and its solution
Almost all your customers are online and then again, they all have a smartphone. If you want to reach out to a wider customer base, your website should be mobile compatible. Now here lies the challenge. Unlike computer or laptop screens, the mobile screens are just around 4 to 6 inches. This creates a space constraint for your content and message. Icon effects will help you to overcome this complication by assigning an icon effect to an action or content that hovers-forward or backward only when the customer selects it. This not only saves space but also prevents the customer to go on a ‘wild goose chase’ on your website.
#4 Convey message with fewer words
Take for e.g. that you have a home improvement services website that offers various services such as plumbing, electrical installations, air conditioning services, etc. If you just include words to denote or pinpoint a particular service section, it not only looks dull and outdated but also does not give out a visual impact that would generate interest. Icon effects, however, draw in your customers’ attention directly to what they are looking for; saving them time and creating a better customer experience. Icon effects simply put content in a nutshell.
#5 Shows Personality and Brand Significance
Icons are metaphors and slogans in disguise. The format, color, design, and other variations of icons depict your brand’s significance and personality. Simple change to the tone and graphics can make a huge difference in your brand and website’s representation.
#6 Drawing attention to what matters
There is a limit to how much time your customers would spend reading and evaluating the lengthy content on your website. People tend to get bored easily especially if there is nothing on your website to catch their attention. Yes, we usually have action representing icons such as ‘click here’ or ‘set up’, etc, but what sets your website apart is an interactive perspective and design of your more valuable content: The content that is the crux of your brand or website. It is said that pictures say a thousand words and this metaphor also applies to icon and icon effects. You can connect with your customers at a deeper level if they can relate to the content with ease.
#7 Combinations are the Key
Your icon should correctly relate and interpret the message you are sending out through your website. E.g. a single wrench denotes a wrench for sale but when the icon has two wrenches lying crisscross on each other they could represent ‘services’ and ‘repairs’. Some people mistakenly use this for ‘settings’ that may cause confusion. Another example is the ‘gear’ icon that represents ‘setting’ and ‘web applications’. If you are using the gear icon, do include what it specifically represents through words or content.
#8 Know your Icon effects and their uses
Animated icons create a more user-friendly and interactive browsing experience than content and static icons. Through years of test and trials, animated icon effects have reached a mature and generalized form. Here are the ‘3’ main types of animated icon effects that are used across the web industry.
- Hover Effect Icons: This is a simple type of animated icon effect that is generally used for actions such as ‘click me’ or ‘download’. The ‘click me’ hover effects icon lets the customer know that they have clicked the button while the ‘download’ hover effects icon can also be used to provide other information such as file size, download start’ etc.
- SVG Animated Icon Effects: This icon effect can be used to demonstrate a dynamically loading image instead of a static icon. If you want to know more about SVG animations, you can read here.
- Parallax Icon Effects: If you have a mobile application or if your website also supports smartphones, nothing is more engaging and interactive than the Parallax icon effects. Awesome for storytelling and works great when there are space constraints. In fact, all large corporations and businesses use the parallax icon effects to make their websites and mobile applications more dynamic and interactive. Click here if you are interested to find out more about Parallax icon effects.
#9 Organizing your lists
This applies more to your landing page. When you have a list of products and service with different pricings and packages, icons give to the advantage to organize the whole data in a systematic order while also saving space and providing more information to your user. This is not only a better way of creating your website but also critical for it. It enhances user experience with eye-catching details and sets the right tone for navigation across your website. Imagine Facebook or Amazon pages without any icons. The customers would be lost in the abysmal content and links in their millions of pages of data.
#10 Change is crucial
Nothing stays in trend forever. Even the largest corporations and businesses change their company logos and taglines owing to the ever-changing demand public perspective. This also applies to your logos and icons. Case in point, the hamburger image. While most people will mistake it for a normal burger, it is mainly used as an icon that indicates a side menu with selections of more options and additional pages.
Ask your colleagues, workers, and even customers for feedback as to how they interpret the icons on your website and upgrade or change the icon effects accordingly. This will help you to create a more visually appealing website with better interactive user experience.
