Orb Icons v.2 — Software 01: Customizable Icon Library for Software UI

Orb Icons v.2: Software 01 — Clean, Scalable Icon SetOrb Icons v.2: Software 01 is a refined icon collection designed for modern software interfaces, focusing on clarity, scalability, and consistency. This article explores the set’s design principles, technical specifications, use cases, integration tips, customization options, licensing considerations, and best practices for implementing the icons in web and native applications.

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Design philosophy

The core philosophy behind Orb Icons v.2 is minimalism with personality. Each icon uses simple geometric forms—primarily circles and smooth strokes—to create a cohesive visual language. The goals are:

• Legibility at all sizes: Shapes are optimized to remain recognizable from tiny UI elements (16×16 px) up to large displays.
• Visual harmony: A consistent stroke width, corner radius, and spacing system give the set a unified look across diverse glyphs.
• Approachable aesthetic: Rounded forms and subtle negative space convey friendliness without sacrificing professionalism.

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Visual characteristics

Orb Icons v.2 employs several visual conventions that make the set distinctive:

• Circular base or “orb” motif: Many icons sit within or reference a circular silhouette to reinforce brand identity.
• Consistent grid: Icons are aligned to a 24‑pixel or 48‑pixel grid to ensure pixel‑perfect rendering.
• Balanced stroke weights: A small range of stroke thicknesses is used to preserve clarity at different sizes.
• Controlled contrast: Where filled and outline styles coexist, careful contrast management prevents visual noise.

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Contents of Software 01 pack

The Software 01 subset targets common software and developer needs. Typical categories include:

• System actions: install, update, settings, restart
• File types: document, folder, archive, code file
• Development tools: terminal, Git, bug/issue, build
• UI controls: toggle, dropdown, slider, search
• Notifications & states: success, error, warning, syncing

Each glyph is provided in multiple formats (see Technical specifications) and includes both filled and outline variants where appropriate.

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Technical specifications

Orb Icons v.2 is prepared for modern workflows:

• File formats: SVG, PNG at multiple sizes (16, 24, 32, 48, 64, 128), and an icon font/variable symbol set for faster delivery.
• Vector-friendly: SVGs use clean paths and avoid unnecessary groups so they’re easy to modify.
• Grid sizes: primary grid at 24×24 px with a 48×48 px option for high‑density displays.
• Stroke strategy: strokes are converted to outlines in exported assets when needed for predictable rendering across environments.
• Accessibility: each SVG includes title/description elements to aid screen readers when used inline.

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Integration approaches

Web

• Inline SVG: paste SVG into HTML for direct styling and animation with CSS.
• SVG sprite: combine multiple icons into a single file and reference via for fewer requests.
• Icon component library: wrap SVGs into React/Vue/Svelte components to pass props like size, color, and aria labels.

Native (iOS/Android)

• Use PDF/SVG assets for scalable icons in iOS Asset Catalog and Android VectorDrawable conversions.
• Provide multiple raster sizes for legacy devices.

Design tools

• Figma/Sketch/Adobe XD: import the SVG set or a UI kit with prebuilt components and color tokens for rapid prototyping.

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Customization and theming

Orb Icons v.2 is designed to be easily themed:

• Color: change stroke and fill via CSS variables or component props.
• Size: scale using viewBox and width/height attributes or with font-size when using the icon font.
• Stroke width: for outline variants, stroke can be scaled programmatically or by swapping to the thicker/thinner master files included.
• Roundedness: if you want a sharper aesthetic, the source vector files contain editable corner radii.

Example CSS to color an inline SVG:

.icon--primary svg { fill: var(--color-primary); stroke: none; } .icon--outline svg { fill: none; stroke: var(--color-foreground); stroke-width: 2; } 

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Performance considerations

• Prefer SVG sprite or icon font to reduce HTTP requests.
• Minify SVGs to remove metadata and reduce file size.
• Use modern image formats (WebP) for PNG fallbacks where appropriate.
• Lazy-load large icon sets to avoid blocking critical render paths.

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Accessibility best practices

• Provide descriptive aria-labels or