Compassion Icon System
In 2024, I had the privilege of creating a custom icon set for Compassion International as part of a global rebrand. For this project, I led a global team of creatives to find alignment across multiple countries and disciplines.
We had three tenets that the work needed to speak to:
Human
“Glocal” (global representation, local feel)
Simple
The first, and arguably most important tenent for the icon set was that it needed to be human. Compassion is an organization that is deeply connected with human interaction. Releasing children from poverty. Sharing stories of hardship, hope, and freedom. We needed an icon set that had life, and wasn’t corporate. But that also wasn’t too playful or would look out of place next to the hard realities of global poverty.
We achieved this by integrating organic curves that mimic a human smile, frown, or eyebrow.
This subtle touch adds a bit of life to the icon set, without becoming a distraction or negatively impacting readability.
The second tenet is an internal term we used, “glocal”. We wanted to capture imagery that is globally recognizable but also locally interpretable.
A great example is the “food” icon above. Most cultures, even if they typically use chopsticks, would recognize the plate, fork, and spoon icon on the right. However, a more generic bowl of food works for every culture. Some might see a bowl of rice, cassava, or mashed potatoes. It’s globally recognizable but freely interpreted locally.
The third and final tenet for the icon set was that they needed to be simple. They should be readable at their original 24x24px size, understood by both children and adults, and able to hold their own without accompanying text.
Another important principle for iconography is that it should sit well with your brand typeface(s).
I took a lot of inspiration from our brand typeface, Neighbour Sans. It has a beautiful combination of sharp geometrics, smooth curves, and life-giving tapers.
I added tapered endcaps to the icons to help mirror these characteristics. This helped the icons sit nicely next to Neighbour Sans, as well as reinforced the human element of the icons.