What is an icon?

An icon is a visual shorthand. A small, simple image representing a concept, action, or object. Think of the heart icon for “like” or “favorite” or the magnifying glass for “search.” Icons are everywhere – quietly doing their job of helping users navigate interfaces without needing long explanations.

Icons are more than decorative elements. They’re tools for communication. And just like any tool, they need to be sharp, precise, and easy to use. As you design and test your icons, keep this question in mind: is it clear what this icon means – without any extra help?

Why use an icon: 5 reasons

When used effectively, icons make interfaces cleaner, faster, and more intuitive. Here are five key reasons why they’re worth your attention.

1. Reduce the learning curve for new users

Icons act as visual cues, helping people understand functionality at a glance. The trash can icon for “delete”. The pencil icon for “edit.” This common visual shorthand cuts down the time it takes to get comfortable with an interface.

2. Save on screen space

Instead of using valuable real estate for long text labels, a well-designed icon communicates the same idea in a fraction of the space. This is especially helpful on mobile devices, where every pixel is precious.

Microsoft Word 95 for MacOS — packed with delicious icons

3. Improve visual appeal

Icons add polish to your design. A thoughtfully crafted icon set can make your interface feel cohesive and professional. Plus, people naturally gravitate toward visuals – icons help break up text-heavy layouts and create a more engaging experience.

4. Great for fingers and thumbs

When designed with usability in mind, icons are easy to tap, even on small screens. Their size and spacing make navigating a touch interface feel effortless – especially when paired with familiar symbols.

5. Transcend text

One of the greatest strengths of icons is their ability to communicate across languages. A shopping cart icon, for instance, is instantly recognizable to users no matter where they’re from (no Google Translate necessary!).

Understanding icon usability

So, how do you know if an icon is usable? 

It all boils down to how well it communicates its meaning. A usable icon doesn’t leave users guessing – it tells them what they need to know at a glance. That means thinking carefully about factors like clarity, context, and consistency.

Clarity is key

If someone has to pause and wonder, “What does this do?”, the icon isn’t clear enough. Avoid overly abstract designs or symbols that could mean different things to different people.

Context matters

Icons rely on context to communicate their meaning effectively. Placement, surrounding elements, and interface design all shape how users interpret an icon’s function. Testing icons within their interface can highlight potential misinterpretations.

Say you’re designing an app with a heart icon. On its own, it’s clear and recognizable as a symbol for “like” or “favorite.” But now, place it next to a thumbs-up and a star icon in your interface. Suddenly, users might wonder: “What’s the difference between these actions? Am I liking, favoriting, or rating something?”. Not good. 

Testing the icon in context helps reveal if users understand its function or are in danger of misinterpreting it based on its neighbors. 

Consistency builds trust

Icons should feel like they belong together. Whether it’s their size, style, or level of detail, consistency across your icon set helps users feel grounded and confident in navigating your design. Imagine if some icons are minimalist while others are hyper-detailed – it’d be disorienting, right?

When users can rely on your icons to guide them, they’ll interact with your design effortlessly.

What to watch out for when designing icons

To ensure your icons help instead of hinder, here are four key pitfalls to avoid.

1. Overcomplicating the design

Making icons visually stunning is tempting, but don’t sacrifice clarity for style. Users shouldn’t have to decode what your icon means. Stick to simple, recognizable shapes that convey meaning instantly.

2. Relying too much on trends

Trendy designs might look fresh today, but they can quickly become outdated. Instead of jumping on the latest design bandwagon, focus on timeless, functional symbols users will recognize no matter the context.

3. Ignoring cultural differences

An icon that’s clear to one group can leave another scratching their heads. Take the classic piggy bank for savings. In many places, it’s a universal nod to saving money. But what if your audience doesn’t associate pigs with finances? Suddenly, that icon goes from “obvious” to “Why is there a cartoon animal on my banking page?!”

The same goes for gestures – a thumbs-up might scream “approval” to one group but carry a very different (less friendly) meaning somewhere else. 

Icons live in context, and that context includes culture. This is an important point we’ll cover in more detail later.

4. Forgetting accessibility

Not all users perceive icons in the same way. Some users struggle to see small icons or low-contrast designs. Test your icons to ensure they’re accessible for people with visual impairments or colorblindness.

By keeping these potential issues in mind, you’ll be better equipped to create icons that are clear, consistent, and user-friendly.

Designing an icon is only half the battle – the real challenge lies in making sure it works for your users. Here are five key aspects you should focus on during testing.

1. Findability

Determine if users can easily and quickly locate the icon when needed.

• Does the icon stand out in size, color, or placement?

• Is it visually distinct enough to draw attention without overwhelming the design?

• Example: A delete icon buried in a cluttered menu might be overlooked, even if it’s well-designed. Testing how users locate the icon can reveal whether it needs better positioning, size adjustments, or a more distinct visual style.

2. Recognizability

Do users instantly understand what the icon represents?

• Is the symbol familiar, or does it require additional context?

• Test idea: Show the icon out of context and ask, “What does this mean?”

3. Comprehensibility

Once recognized, do users understand its purpose or action?

• Are there potential misunderstandings (e.g. a pencil icon might mean “edit” or “draw”)?

• Validation tip: Ask users to describe its function in their own words.

4. Aesthetic appeal

Does the icon look polished and professional?

• Does it align with the overall design style?

• Validation tip: Use design surveys to gather thoughts on its visual impact.

5. Contextual fit 

Does the icon make sense within its surrounding interface?

• Does it match the style and purpose of the design?

• Example user question: “Does this icon feel cohesive with the rest of the interface?”

Key icon attributes to test

Here’s a list of the key attributes that our tests aim to measure, with some questions that a user might ask of an interface like a file manager:

Is the icon findable?

First of all, a user has to be able to find the icon in your design.

How do I delete this file? Where's the delete button?

Both the navigation test and first click test are great for testing findability, which is critical to measure in-context. The rest of the interface is an important part of how a user finds an icon, so testing without it makes it hard to get accurate findability data.

Is the icon recognizable?

Second, a user has to be able to identify the form of the icon — be it a real-world object like a floppy disk, or a metaphorical device like an arrow or network node.

Is this icon a trash can or a cup of tea?

Is the icon comprehensible?

Next, a user must be able to interpret the functionality that the icon is shorthand for. Can the user easily determine what the icon actually does, rather than what it is?

Does a trash can mean that I’m deleting this forever? Or can I go back and recover it in the future?

Both recognizability and comprehensibility are pretty flexible, in that you can test them in a variety of ways:

• A design survey gives you unstructured, free-text feedback from participants.

• A five second test measures how memorable the icon is.

• A preference test helps you discover the icon that participants tell you that they understand more readily than other options.

• A first click or navigation test gives you a view of the icon’s overall performance.

A good icon is both easy to recognize and comprehend. For example, a 'delete’ icon often looks like a trash can, making it extremely easy to recognize, and it completes the function of putting an item in the trash, so users can easily comprehend what it will do.

On the other hand, a ‘save’ icon often looks like a floppy disk. Though this convention is quite widely understood, users born in the 21st century may have never seen a floppy disk before, so will need to be familiar with the convention in order to recognize and comprehend what the icon will do.

Is the icon aesthetically appealing?

Finally, it’s optimal if icons fit nicely into the design, and enhance the aesthetics rather than working against it.

This delete icon looks about 15 years old, do these people care about their design? Should I be using this product or should I find a newer one?

The aesthetic appeal of an icon is best tested via a preference test, as it heavily depends on the opinions and tastes of your participants.

Icon testing methods

The right testing approach helps you understand what works, what doesn’t, and how to improve. Here’s a breakdown of the most effective icon testing methods and how to use them.

1. Preference testing

Preference testing helps you decide which icon design resonates most with users. If you have multiple design options, this method reveals which users prefer and why.

What it tests:

• Aesthetic appeal — Users can choose which design feels more polished and visually appealing.

• Comprehensibility — By seeing which design users prefer, you can understand which icon they interpret most clearly.

How it works:

• Show users two or more icon design options.

• Ask which design they prefer and why.

• Use the feedback to select the design that best aligns with user preferences.

2. First-click testing

First-click testing reveals how quickly users can locate and interact with an icon when given a task. It highlights the effectiveness of the icon's findability and contextual fit.

What it tests:

• Findability — Determine if users can spot and click the icon on their first try.

• Comprehensibility — See if users correctly understand the action the icon represents.

• Contextual fit — Test how well the icon integrates with the surrounding interface.

How it works:

• Provide users with a task (e.g., "Delete this item").

• Observe where users click first.

• If they hesitate or click the wrong icon, it signals a potential issue with findability or comprehensibility.

3 . Five-second testing

Five-second testing measures how well users recognize an icon at a glance. It reveals whether the icon's visual design is clear and intuitive.

What it tests:

• Recognizability — Ensures users can identify the meaning of the icon without extra context.

How it works:

• Display the icon to users for five seconds (or less).

• Remove the icon and ask users what it represents.

• If users can’t identify it correctly, consider revising the icon’s design to be more recognizable.

4. Navigation testing

Navigation testing tracks how users move through your interface to locate an icon. It’s useful for testing findability — ensuring users can spot an icon in a crowded interface.

What it tests:

• Findability — Check if users can spot and navigate to the icon quickly.

How it works:

• Ask users to complete a task that requires them to locate the icon (e.g., "Find the edit button").

• Watch how users navigate through the interface.

• If users struggle to locate the icon, consider adjusting its placement, size, or visual emphasis.

5. Card sorting

Card sorting is a method for organizing groups of icons or categories. It shows how users naturally categorize icons, helping you design a logical and intuitive navigation structure.

What it tests:

• Comprehensibility — Ensures icons are placed in the most intuitive categories for users.

• Contextual fit — Ensures the placement and groupings of icons feel logical to users.

How it works:

• Present users with a set of icons.

• Ask them to group the icons in a way that makes sense to them.

• Use the results to structure categories, menus, and toolbars more logically.

6. Design surveys

Design surveys help you gather qualitative feedback from users. They allow users to share their thoughts on an icon's design, meaning, and visual appeal.

What it tests:

• Recognizability — Users provide feedback on how familiar and clear the icon looks.

• Comprehensibility — Users explain what they think the icon represents, helping you gauge if its meaning is obvious.

• Aesthetic appeal — Users can give feedback on whether the icon looks polished and fits the overall design.

How it works:

• Send users a survey with questions like:

  • “What does this icon mean to you?”

  • “Does this icon feel clear and recognizable?”

  • “Do you find this icon visually appealing?”

• Use the feedback to identify patterns and make targeted design changes.

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Should you test icons in or out of context?

We touched on this earlier, but it's an important point that bears repeating: when it comes to icon testing, the question of context is crucial. 

Should you test icons on their own, isolated from the interface, or see how they perform within the design? The answer isn’t either/or – it’s both. Each approach has unique benefits, together giving you a full picture of your icon’s usability.

Testing icons out of context

Testing icons on their own is a great way to measure recognizability. Without any supporting clues like labels or layout, can users still understand what the icon represents? This is especially helpful during the early design stages when you’re refining the icon’s look and meaning.

Example: Show users a trash can icon by itself and ask, “What does this mean to you?” If responses vary widely, it’s a sign your design needs work.

Testing icons in context

After clarifying your icon on its own, test how it works in the real world within the actual interface. Context affects how users interpret and interact with icons. Placement, surrounding elements, and even the overall design style all affect how well your icon performs.

Example: Place the same trash can icon in your app’s toolbar and observe how quickly users can find and use it to delete an item. If they struggle, the issue might not be the icon itself but its placement or visibility.

A balanced approach

Test both in and out of context to cover all your bases. Out-of-context testing helps you refine the icon’s design; in-context testing ensures it integrates smoothly with the overall interface. Together, they help you create icons that aren't just visually effective but also practical for users.

Putting iconography testing into practice

Testing icons doesn’t have to be overwhelming – it’s all about starting simple and building from there. By focusing on practical tests, you can refine your designs and ensure they perform well in real-world scenarios. Here’s how you can put icon testing into practice.

Start simple – test recognizability and aesthetic appeal

Begin with the basics. Test whether your users can recognize your icon and whether they find it visually appealing. Start with out-of-context tests, like showing the icon alone and asking questions like:

• “What does this icon represent?”

• “How do you feel about this design?”

This stage helps uncover immediate confusion or visual preferences. It’s a low-cost, high-impact way to identify potential issues early on.

A more complex test – measure icon performance in-context

Once you’re confident in the icon’s standalone effectiveness, take it a step further. Test the icon within its intended interface to evaluate how it performs in context. Ask users to complete specific tasks that involve the icon, such as:

• “Can you find and use the delete function in this toolbar?”

• “Which icon would you click to save this document?”

This helps you understand whether the icon is discoverable, intuitive, and functional when surrounded by other design elements.

Gather meaningful feedback

During testing, focus on gathering actionable feedback. Ask open-ended questions to learn what users think and feel, and observe how they interact with the icons. Sometimes, the way users approach a task can reveal more than their direct feedback.

By starting simple and gradually testing in more complex scenarios, you’ll cover every angle of icon usability. 

Testing icon design variations

Even the best designers don’t land on the perfect icon the first time – that’s where variations come in. Creating a few quick versions of your design gives you options to test and refine.

Sometimes, small changes can have a big impact. A minor tweak to an icon’s shape, color, or angle could make it more intuitive for users. By testing a few options, you’ll get a better sense of what works and what doesn’t.

How to approach variations

Focus on quality over quantity. Start with two or three versions of the same icon, each with slight differences. For example:

• Try a thicker stroke on one version and a thinner stroke on another.

• Experiment with color – does a bold color grab attention better than a neutral one?

• Adjust the level of detail. A minimalist icon might be clearer, while a detailed version could feel more specific.

Having alternatives ready makes your testing process smoother – and often reveals unexpected insights.

Comparing icon testing results

Once you’ve tested your design variations, it’s time to compare the results. This step is all about identifying which icon works best and why.

Key factors to evaluate

When comparing your test results, focus on:

• User preference: Which version did users gravitate toward most?

• Clarity: Was one option easier for users to recognize and understand?

• Emotional response: Did users feel more confident (or satisfied) using one version over the others?

Digging deeper

If two icons perform equally well, dig into the details. Was one design quicker to understand, even by a fraction of a second? Or maybe users found one more visually appealing overall? Small nuances can make a big difference in user experience.

Testing your icons in context

Now that you’ve selected your best-performing icon, it’s time to test it in the wild. This is your opportunity to confirm that the design holds up in real-world usage.

Test it across scenarios

Icons aren’t static – they’ll be used in different contexts, on various devices, and by a wide range of users. Test your chosen icon in:

• Different screen sizes (e.g. desktop vs mobile)

• Light and dark mode interfaces

• Tasks with varying levels of complexity

Observe user behavior

Pay attention to how users interact with the icon during live tasks. Do they click it instinctively, or do they hesitate? Watch for patterns that might indicate lingering confusion or areas for improvement.

This final round of testing helps you confirm that your icon isn’t just effective in theory – it’s ready to shine in practice.

Creating icons that click with users

Icons might be small, but their impact is anything but. A well-designed icon doesn’t just look good – it works hard. It guides users, simplifies interactions, and makes your design feel intuitive and polished.

By understanding what makes a user icon design effective, testing it thoughtfully, and improving it with user feedback, you’re setting your users up for success. Whether it’s a simple adjustment or a complete redesign, every tweak gets you closer to creating icons users understand and trust.

Remember, the best icons don’t make users think – they just make sense. So, take the time to test, listen, and improve. Your users will thank you for it.

A more complex test – measuring icon performance in-context

‍In the below test, we wanted to see whether participants could find the options for a specific screen in a ride sharing/taxi app. This test was conducted in response to analytics that showed very little use of the functions within the ‘more’ icon on the right of the screen — the three vertically stacked dots.

This ‘more’ icon is a standard one from the Material Design icon set, so it’s a mystery why it is performing badly. If it’s a platform-wide standard for Android, why should these users find it difficult to use?

‍Here’s an excerpt from the results page that shows how often the success target area was clicked by participants:

Baseline test results — ‘Area #1’ is the target

The results of this baseline test clearly highlight an area of opportunity for the design. A 50% split between success and failure is not a good result for a navigation test.

The right hand ‘more’ icon was the success target for this test, but half of the test participants went to the left-hand hamburger icon, which contains the primary navigation menu, not the page-specific one.  

For a test like this to be successful, at least 80% of participants would hit the success target, so this design is a long way off. However, could the solution be as simple as switching the ‘more’ icon out for something different?

At first glance, it could be that the standard ‘menu’ hamburger icon on the left is taking attention away from the ‘more’ icon — or it’s not clear which of these menus contains the relevant options.

Get some quick alternatives together

Even though there is standardization in the Material Design guidelines around this ‘more’ icon, would a different icon do a better job for this use case?

The easiest way to find out with UI functions like this is to run a couple of first click tests. Grab your design tools and whip up a few concepts which show alternatives for the icon.

It’s critical that you don’t spend a lot of time doing this. These designs don’t need to be perfect. Test as many as you can. It’s not worth spending a lot of time agonizing over these concepts, because you’re using them to generate data for your design, not as a source of final validation and blessing on the design. They’re part of your work-in-progress.

The test is aimed specifically at changing this single icon, so we should create a variation set to contain all of our alternatives. This avoids corrupting our tests with participants that have prior knowledge of this design.

Let’s try a horizontal variation of the current icon design that looks like an ellipse, a variation with a traditional ‘settings cog’ icon swapped in, and a final variation with a text-only label to see if that makes a difference.

Variations of the ‘more’ icon, in-context

Those with a keen eye and knowledge of Material Design will note that this label-only option contravenes their guidelines. It also looks a bit cluttered and confused, with the hamburger icon, page heading, search icon, and test label.

That’s alright for the moment. When we’re trying to find a solution to a problem this severe, it doesn’t matter what the starting point is. It’s more important to start going down the right path as quickly as possible.

If the bare label works much better than the icons, we have a new direction to explore in the design that we know strikes a chord with participants.

The main point is to not get too attached to the solution at this stage. Think of this process as ideation facilitated by data, rather than traditional design spitballing.  

Comparing the results

So which of the concepts worked the best?

When comparing multiple tests, it’s useful to extract the relevant results into a spreadsheet, so that you can see all of the critical data points together.  

Here’s a chart showing the relevant results from the four completed tests:

These results show that none of the variations hit the mark. Even the best alternative, the horizontal dots, performs roughly the same as the baseline vertical dots.

If the best alternative was 10% better, then it’d be worth considering further, but a 2% increase isn’t enough to call it a success with a sample size of 50 participants, especially when the clicks on the ‘menu’ icon went up to 38% for this alternative.

It seems like the ‘menu’ icon is too overpowering for any of the options to work. This is having a negative impact on the findability of the target icon.

Interestingly, the text label option performs worst of all the variations, so let’s put this direction aside for now.

Testing the theory

Now that we’ve tested some alternative icons with no success, and suspect that the findability of the ‘more’ icon is suffering due to the ‘menu’ icon on the left, the next step is to try a version without the ‘menu’ icon to see what impact this has.

Again, don’t worry about the overall design when looking to test this kind of variation. The overall usability of the screen is not what we’re trying to test — we’re looking to isolate and test the problem with the ‘more’ icon only.

The second batch of variations, with no ‘menu’ icon

…and here is a comparison of the original test results with the new tests of the ‘more’ icon:

The results are clear — the current ‘more’ icon is fine. Rather, it’s other parts of the design that are causing issues.

In this example, having both a ‘menu’ and a ‘more’ icon on the screen is drastically degrading the icon’s findability, and perhaps the recognizability as well.

Better icons for all

In the examples above, we’ve scratched the surface of what can be found with a few simple tests that didn’t take a lot of time and money to complete — for the ‘more’ icon tests, we ended up with responses from 300 participants in total, at a cost of 300 credits and an afternoon of experimentation and testing. Sometimes it can feel like you’re going down a rabbit hole, but that’s all part of the design and research process.

Testing icons is a critical process for any product that uses them, and the insights you gain are always useful in building up a better picture of your end users. In turn, this helps you make better design decisions for your product.