Noun Project is the most extensive and diverse collection of icons and mission-driven photos on the web. We now have more than 5 million icons on our platform, contributed by Creators from 130+ countries.
Recently, we’ve observed an increase in icon submissions that depict symbols and common subject matter that is already well-represented on Noun Project. To ensure these areas of our library continue to showcase distinct and intentionally designed content, we’ve updated the submission requirements for several key icon categories.
Icon Categories with Updated Submission Requirements
There are two main icon categories that currently have an abundance of content: “Standardized” icons and “Flexible” icons.
Standardized icons are established symbols that have little to no room for variation. Examples of Standardized icons include symbols like the recycling symbol, arrows, punctuation marks, and shapes.
Flexible icons are icons that represent popular categories of content that have more room to vary composition and details, but still represent common objects and concepts. Examples of flexible icons include representations of animals, plants, vehicles, weather, business concepts, and food items.
Since standardized and flexible icons are already well-represented in our library, we’ve updated our quality requirements for new icon submissions to these specific categories. Icons that only meet our basic visual requirements may be denied. Icon designs that depict a meaningful variation, exceptional design quality, specialized research or knowledge, distinct design style, intentional organization, and comprehensive context will be prioritized.
Please review our list of frequently denied icons below, as well as the visual examples we’ve provided, to align your designs with our updated standards before submitting icons to these categories.
Frequently Denied Icons
| Standardized Icons | Flexible Icons |
| Shapes Arrows UI elements Recycling symbols Math symbols Punctuation Check marks Laundry symbols Map pins Wayfinding symbols Laundry care label symbols Maps Road signs Media controls Bluetooth symbol | Food Animals Medical Weather Devices Education Sports Plants Travel and vacation Camping Clothing Parties and celebrations Holidays Jobs Finance Business Real estate Buildings Speech and thought bubbles Furniture |
Examples of Denied vs. Accepted Icons
The following examples illustrate some of the qualities we look for when determining which icons will be denied vs. accepted.
Design Quality
Redundancy vs. Meaningful Variation
Design Style and Cohesion
Generic Style vs. Distinct Style
Incomplete vs. Comprehensive Context
Basic Representation vs. In-Depth Representation
Disorganized vs. Organized Icons
For more information about our icon submission guidelines, please refer to our Creator Handbook, developed by the Noun Project moderation team.
