Spooky Icon Design

Project Brief

The goal here was to come up with a fun, Halloween-themed icon set for Instagram to give it that spooky vibe throughout October. This set swaps out standard icons (like home, search, profile, etc.) for Halloween-inspired ones—think ghosts, bats, pumpkins—to make the app feel festive but still easy to use.

Research & Brainstorming

I kicked things off by digging into some classic Halloween iconography, looking for symbols that could bring that eerie, playful touch without losing familiarity. I also looked at a few themed icon sets used in seasonal campaigns to get a sense of what hits the sweet spot between quirky and functional.

Design Process

1. Sketching Ideas: I started sketching ideas for each icon, focusing on keeping the familiar shapes but adding spooky twists. For example, the home icon turned into a haunted house, and the like icon got a heart with little vampire fangs.
2. Color Choices: I leaned on Halloween colors like orange, black, and purple, throwing in a few glow-y accents to keep things visible in both light and dark modes.
3. Style Consistency: To keep things in sync with Instagram’s clean look, I kept the line weights and style of each icon consistent. The spooky details were there but subtle enough not to disrupt Instagram’s overall feel.
4. Testing for Clarity: I tested each icon at smaller sizes to make sure they were still easy to recognize, tweaking them for better contrast and readability. Accessibility checks were a priority, especially in dark mode.

Challenges

One tricky part was finding the balance between detail and simplicity—keeping them spooky without overloading the icons. I also needed to make sure they still felt like they fit with Instagram's smooth style, so I had to hold back a bit on some of the more intricate details.