Project 1_Visual input

What is an ICON?
In the context of computer graphics an icon is small image that provides a clear look and message.
They are most often used in very a small format (as a little thumbnail), so the lines and shapes have to be simple, with few amount of points.
The colors within the image have to work very good as a "family" or color-palette.
The overall shape has to be simple, against no background (white in this case).

Think about the overall shape
(the outline) and from there try to concentrate on the shape of the background.
The form of that white mass is what we call Negative Space.

To see some of those elements in a Flash piece, Click

Roller-skate

The negative space is specially important in the area where the object and the background meet:The smallest bump in the outline of the object, will change how all the space around it is perceived. Look at the detail in the bike handle, the little button to close the ring lid in purple or the subtle shape of the dolphin's fins.

When you look at forms, you are perceiving all the space that those shapes move around them. This is one reason why shapes need to be sharp, and to obtain this effect you need to work with the absolute minimum amount of points.