Make your ideas move: Creating and using animated icons

Animated icons can transform traditional icons' static nature into engaging visuals that grab users' attention, enhance user experience, and improve overall interface aesthetics. 

One primary reason to use animated icons is their ability to convey actions or processes more effectively. For instance, a loading icon can inform users that a process is underway, reducing uncertainty and waiting time anxiety. Additionally, animated icons can help guide users’ attention to important features or notifications, facilitating navigation and engagement.

They often reflect a brand's personality and can establish a deeper emotional connection with users by providing visual feedback and enhancing storytelling.

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When to use animated icons

Animated icons can be used in various contexts to enhance user experience and communication. Here are some typical use cases:

• User interface feedback: Animated icons can provide visual feedback during interactions, such as loading indicators or button animations, which help users understand that their actions are being processed.

• Navigation: In mobile and web applications, animated icons can draw attention to important navigation elements, making it easier for users to find their way through an interface.

• Brand identity: Companies often use animated icons in their branding materials and websites to create a more engaging and memorable identity.

• Onboarding processes: Animated icons can guide users through onboarding processes, making steps feel more intuitive and less overwhelming.

• Notifications: Animated icons can quickly capture users' attention in alerts and notifications, ensuring they notice important updates or messages.

• Educational content: Animated icons can simplify complex information in tutorials or explanatory videos, helping viewers understand key concepts.

• Social media: Animated icons are often used in social media posts and stories to grab attention and convey messages more dynamically.

• E-commerce: In online shopping, animated icons can enhance product display by drawing attention to special offers or highlighting features.

The key objective is to enhance user engagement with your website, app, or content, improving overall performance. 

For instance, incorporating an animated icon in a software interface to indicate a new product update can boost feature adoption. Similarly, including animations in a tutorial can increase the video’s engagement rate. This approach goes beyond mere aesthetics; it also serves a functional purpose.

Where to find animated icons

You have two main options when acquiring animated icons: create them from scratch or find them in an online library.

Creating icons from scratch allows for complete control over design and animation. However, it requires design skills and can be time-consuming. You may also need software or tools to bring your ideas to life.

Alternatively, an online library can save time and effort, providing a wide selection of ready-to-use icons. This is an excellent choice if you're working on a deadline, but it may limit customization and uniqueness since others may use the same icons. Ultimately, your choice will depend on your project needs and available resources. 

Here’s a list of popular animated icon libraries that you can explore:

• LottieFiles: LottieFiles is a platform for lightweight animations in JSON format. It offers a wide range of animated icons that can be easily integrated into web and mobile applications. 
• Iconscout: This library offers a vast selection of animated icons, illustrations, and 3D assets. Icons can be easily customized and exported in various formats.
• Icons8: Icons8 features a comprehensive collection of animated icons alongside static icons. Many of these animations are available for free or via subscription, and there are options for commercial use.
• SVGLoaders: SVGLoaders specializes in animated SVG loaders and icons, which are perfect for adding engaging loading animations to web projects.
• Flaticon: Offers a blend of static and animated icons. Users can filter options to find animations that fit their project's requirements.
• Pixabay: While primarily a stock photo and video site, Pixabay offers a free selection of animated GIF icons for use in various projects. 

Creating and customizing icons with Linearity Move and Curve

In Linearity, we have two software products that will help you create and animate your icons.

Linearity Curve offers a complete set of vector design tools that allows you to customize icons for your website, app, or video. You can create pixel-perfect assets, design brand illustrations, or transform raster illustrations into stunning full-color vector graphics.

When your design is ready, you can animate it with Linearity Move, where you can craft animations right on your canvas by moving or tweaking elements directly, or simply applying animation presets with one click.

Customization process in Linearity Curve

Here are some features that will help you customize your icons in no time using Linearity Curve:

Shape Builder

Curves and lines can modify the basic shapes of icons. The Shape Builder tool lets you quickly sketch your icon ideas by overlapping circles, polygons, or rectangles.

To sculpt your design, switch between Merge Mode and Erase Mode. In Merge Mode, combine areas of your design by drawing over the intersecting sections of your shapes. Then, switch to Erase Mode to remove any unwanted areas.

Pen Tool

If you began your icon design in a sketchbook, you can use the built-in camera scanner to scan and import it into Linearity Curve. After importing, start tracing over your lines using the Pen Tool. You can create curved paths, straight paths, and complex shapes by defining anchor points. To adjust the curves, manipulate the two handles connected to each anchor point.

The Node Tool is quite useful for refining your design. It enables you to create precise paths by adjusting the corner radius and selecting the appropriate node type. You can effortlessly convert a curved segment back into a straight line, finalizing the details of your icon.

Auto Trace

The Auto Trace feature is an AI-enhanced tool that instantly converts your sketches and photos into crisp vector graphics. It includes four modes: Photo, Sketch, Illustration, and Basic Shapes.

Utilizing the Illustration and Basic Shapes Mode for icon design will streamline your workflow and lead to the desired final results. Each mode provides customizable slides that enhance detail level, color accuracy, and gradient smoothness.

However, don’t forget that you can access our icon library if you want to have ready-to-use designs that will then be easy to animate in Linearity Move, thanks to the seamless integration between both software. 

Adjusting colors and styles

One of Linearity Curve features is gradient editing. This feature allows you to seamlessly blend colors and create visual effects that can elevate the overall aesthetic of your designs. Additionally, we offer customizable palettes, enabling you to tailor your color selections to fit the specific mood and theme of your project. 

Dynamic style adjustments are another key aspect. They allow you to make real-time changes to your designs. Whether you're adjusting shapes, colors, or gradients, you can see the impact of your alterations immediately, allowing for a more intuitive and responsive design process.

Animate your icons in Linearity Move

The integration between Linearity Curve and Linearity Move allows designs created in Curve to be easily animated in Move, making the Linearity Suite convenient for designers.

When creating animated icons, the Auto Animate tool can be a valuable ally. While Auto Animate handles the seamless transitions between frames, you may want to fine-tune the timing. To do this, simply double-click to open the timeline, allowing you to customize how and when each movement occurs with ease.

You can access over 20 animation presets to ensure a smooth workflow. Simply select an object, choose a preset from the preset menu, and then select your preferred direction and speed before clicking "apply." Don’t worry — you will still have full control over the animation. Once a preset is applied to an object, you can customize it by adjusting the properties and timing in your timeline to make it uniquely yours.

Downloading your icons in modern formats

The ways to create and display animated icons have improved. The era of GIFs as the sole format is over. Today, there are multiple modern formats to choose from, each with its benefits, including:

• SVG (Animated SVG): Best choice for web use. It’s lightweight, scalable, and can be easily manipulated with CSS or JavaScript. It’s resolution-independent, meaning it looks sharp on all screen sizes (including Retina displays).

• Lottie (JSON): Lottie is perfect for more complex animations. It is highly efficient and allows for smooth animations, which is ideal for web apps or websites that require high-quality visuals with small file sizes.

• WebP: A modern image format that supports both static and animated images, with smaller file sizes than GIFs. 

• APNG: If you need better quality than a GIF, especially with transparent backgrounds, APNG could be a better choice for certain platforms that support it.

Disadvantages of animated icons

At the beginning of the article, we talked about all the advantages of using animated icons. However, they also come with challenges, such as performance impact, accessibility concerns, and potential distractions if overused. Let’s review them:

• Performance impact: Animations require processing power, which can slow down devices or web pages, especially on lower-end hardware.

• Distraction: Overuse or excessive motion can be distracting or annoying for users.

• Accessibility issues: Some users, particularly those with motion sensitivity, may find animations uncomfortable.

• Compatibility challenges: It may not work well across all browsers, operating systems, or devices without proper optimization.

• Potential overuse: If not done tastefully, animations can clutter the UI and negatively impact usability.

To maximize their benefits, you should balance functionality with visual appeal, ensuring animations are smooth, purposeful, and optimized for various devices.

Enhance designs and user experience with animated icons

Animated icons can significantly improve the overall feel of an interface by capturing attention, guiding users through tasks, and making interactions more engaging.

When incorporated thoughtfully, these dynamic elements enhance usability without causing distractions, contributing to a more intuitive and visually appealing design.

With Linearity Curve, you can create stunning vector icons, and with Linearity Move, you can bring them to life with seamless animations. Download both for free and start crafting dynamic, engaging icons today!

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