We started by defining some high-level requirements:
• Vector graphics – images can be scaled to different sizes with quality.
• Source files – we can edit the images if needed.
• Multiple styles – provide the user with flexibility to customize based on style.
Then we researched various icon design companies and performed a price cost analysis of their offered icon packages. Since we desired an extensive selection with multiple styles, iconshock was selected to best fit our needs. Some sample icons from iconshock are illustrated below.
A summary of the iconshock package includes:
• 341,422 vector icons
• 901,896 stock icons in 246 icon collections
• 25 different icon design styles
After purchasing the entire icon product line with a six month subscription, we began the download process. It took over two days to download 190 GB of compressed files, which included both the vector and raster images. A program named Free Download Manager was used to optimize the download process.
Extracting the compressed ZIP files was the next major phase of this operation. Many of the compressed files had to be extracted multiple times to gain access the raw image files. It took three days for two quad-core computers to extract all of the vector files. The extracted vector files totaled approximately 100 GB in size. The raw vector files were available in two basic formats:
• AI (Adobe Illustrator)
• FLA (Adobe Flash)
Organizing the 340,000 vector files was the most difficult part of this exercise. Our goal was simple; find similar icons across the multiple styles. A customized application was developed that takes inventory of specified directories and file names based on a key word file. File names with the most common key words were automatically copied to a working directory. A screenshot of the Icon Manager application is presented below.
The vector files were then converted into raster files for visual comparison using application level automated scripts developed in AutoHotKey. To be consistent across the different styles, the vector files were manually renamed when necessary.
The process of taking inventory, converting to raster, visual comparison, and renaming files was repeated several times. A simple process of selecting icons took over two weeks of data processing, programming, and script development. In the end, we now have over 150 icons available in seven unique styles totaling 20MB in size. Some sample selected icons are illustrated below.
For some specific icon types, such as area chart, the minimum of seven styles was not available. Therefore, some redundancy was necessary to fill out the entire collection of styles and icon types.
More Information
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Best Regards,
Dean DiSalvo.
dean@salventrex.com
