While creating websites, apps, or digital interfaces, icons are a key element that contributes to the user experience and the overall aesthetic beauty. Yet one such issue developers face in dealing with icons is scaling them. Be it resizing an icon for varying screen sizes or different digital devices, it's always challenging to preserve the quality in scaling. Through this blog post, we will guide you through the process and best practices for scaling icons while not compromising on quality.

At Iconfair, we know how crucial high-quality icons are to design. That's why we've put together advice on how to prevent pixelation, blurring, and other quality problems when scaling icons.

Why Scaling Icons Can Be Challenging

Icons are sometimes developed in native resolutions, which are such that scaling them up or down makes the original composition no longer be able to support the scaling process. This problem is because icons are composed of pixels in raster modes (PNG, JPG, etc.). Scales beyond the natural size might display the pixels themselves, leading the icon to become pixelated or blurry.

Alternatively, vector-based icons (such as SVGs) are constructed using mathematical formulas, which means that they can be scaled infinitely without becoming less clear. The trick is knowing when to use each icon type and how to scale them correctly.

Let's look at the ways to keep your icons sharp and clear regardless of size.

1. Use Vector Icons for Infinite Scalability

What Are Vector Icons?

Vector icons are developed through paths, lines, and curves, and are derived from mathematical equations. Because of this method of design, they can be scaled up to any dimension without losing their quality. SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) is the most widely used vector format used in web design, and most contemporary browsers support it.

Benefits of Vector Icons:

Infinite Scalability: Regardless of how much you enlarge a vector icon, it will never lose its sharp edges and perfect proportions.

Smaller File Size: Contrary to raster images, vector icons are generally smaller in file size, thus perfect for speedy-loading websites and applications.

Editability: It is easy to edit the design, color, and size of vector icons without compromising their quality.

We offer a large range of vector icons in SVG format that you can utilize on any screen size without the fear of losing quality.

How to Scale Vector Icons:

Utilize CSS for Web Projects: If you're developing a website, it is simple to scale SVG icons utilizing CSS attributes such as width, height, or transform: scale(). The icon will still look crisp and clean no matter how much you zoom it.

Use Graphic Software for Desktop Projects: In case you need to scale a vector icon manually, Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape can be used to change the size of SVG icons without losing quality. 

2. Refrain from Using Raster Images for Scaling

While vector icons are excellent for scalability, raster images like PNGs or JPGs are not suitable for scaling, as they lose quality when resized. These formats are pixel-based, so scaling up results in blurry or pixelated images.

For example, if you require an icon to be shown both in a small (e.g., 32x32 pixels) and larger (e.g., 512x512 pixels) size, having a PNG or JPG could result in a compromised user experience. The icon details will become blurry and jagged.

Rather than scaling raster images, it's preferable to use them exactly the size needed. If you must offer various sizes for varying screen resolutions, create various versions of the icon at each necessary resolution.

Why You Should Not Scale Raster Icons:

Pixelation: It pixelates when you scale up raster images.

File Size: Raster images have larger file sizes than vectors, which slows down your website.

Inflexibility: Raster images can't be scaled easily without a loss of quality, unlike vector icons.

3. Make Use of Icon Fonts for Resize Flexibility

What Are Icon Fonts?

An icon font is a font that holds symbols and icons rather than letters or numbers. Icon fonts are resizable just like text with CSS, and this makes them scalable and of high quality. Popular icon font libraries include Material Icons, FontAwesome, and Ionicons.

Icon fonts are beneficial in a variety of ways:

Scalability: Similar to vector icons, icon fonts can be scaled infinitely without any loss of quality.

Customizable: You can alter the color, size, and even add CSS effects such as shadows or transitions to icon fonts.

Performance: As the icons are embedded in the font, they are light in weight and assist in minimizing page loading times.

But icon fonts are generally less adaptable when it comes to detailed designs, so they might not be the ideal solution for detailed or complex icons.

How to Use Icon Fonts for Scaling:

Use CSS: Icon fonts can be scaled by using the font-size property in CSS.

Use with CSS Effects: Icon fonts can also be subjected to CSS transformations, such as rotation or scaling.

 

4. Use High-Resolution Icons for Retina Displays

In the modern digital age, most devices possess high-resolution screens (e.g., Retina screens on Apple devices) that demand higher-quality assets. Regular resolution icons may appear fuzzy on these devices, so you need to supply icons in higher resolutions to make them look sharp and clear.

For instance, if you're dealing with raster images (PNGs), you'll want to provide multiple sizes according to varying screen resolutions (1x, 2x, 3x, etc.) to support high-DPI displays. Or, use SVG or icon fonts, which resize themselves to suit any screen resolution.

Tips for High-Resolution Icon Support:

Use 2x and 3x PNGs: Supply multiple versions of your raster images to support high-resolution screens.

Use SVGs or Icon Fonts: As discussed above, vector icons can be resized for any resolution, which makes them ideal for Retina and other high-DPI screens.

5. Take Advantage of Responsive Design Techniques

Responsive design is essential for contemporary web design. Whether users access your website on a desktop, tablet, or smartphone, icons need to adapt smoothly to varying screen sizes without losing quality.

Media queries play an important role in responsive design. These enable you to set a different size of icon based on screen resolution, orientation, or device. By using media queries along with scalable formats such as SVGs or icon fonts, your icons will always remain crisp, regardless of the device.

6. Scale Icons using Online Tools

There are a few online utilities that will scale your icons without loss of quality. These utilities enable you to raster-to-vector convert your images or resize your icons without sacrificing visual integrity.

Iconifier: A web utility that raster-to-vector converts images (e.g., PNGs) to SVGs.

SVGOMG: Compresses SVG files to save space without sacrificing quality.

IcoMoon: Enables you to design your own icon fonts or output SVGs.

At Iconfair, we specialize in providing the best scalable icons to make your designs crisp and professional.

Conclusion

It is crucial to scale icons without compromising on quality to keep your design visually attractive and user-friendly. With the correct icon formats (SVGs, icon fonts, etc.), the avoidance of the pitfalls of raster images, and the application of responsive design practices, you can make your icons look great on all devices and screen sizes.

At Iconfair, we provide a vast library of scalable vector icons that will assist you in designing stunning and effective designs. Whether you are designing a mobile application, a website, or any other digital product, our icons will scale perfectly without compromising on quality.