Metro Style Icons for Windows Phone: A Modern UI Icon PackWindows Phone’s Metro design language (now often called “Modern UI”) emphasized clarity, typography, and content-first layouts. Icons in this ecosystem needed to be simple, consistent, and instantly recognizable at small sizes. This article explores what makes a strong Metro-style icon pack for Windows Phone, how to design and deliver one, technical specs and best practices, licensing and distribution tips, and examples you can use as inspiration.
What is “Metro” / Modern UI iconography?
Metro/Modern UI focuses on:
- Content-first clarity: UI elements should support, not compete with, content.
- Flat minimalism: Minimal use of gradients, shadows, and skeuomorphic detail.
- Geometric simplicity: Icons built from simple shapes and consistent strokes.
- Typographic principles: Clear spacing, alignment, and rhythm derived from typography.
For icons, this translates into simplified silhouettes, consistent stroke weight (or consistent filled shapes), and strong visual legibility at small sizes.
Goals of a Metro-style icon pack
A purposeful icon pack should aim to:
- Provide consistent visual language across all icons.
- Maintain readability at small Windows Phone sizes (typically 24–36 px).
- Offer multiple file formats for designers and developers (PNG, SVG, XAML).
- Support multiple color schemes (light/dark) and accessibility needs.
- Be easy to integrate into XAML-based apps and common design workflows.
Technical specifications and formats
To be useful across design and development workflows, include these formats and variants:
- PNG: raster exports for quick use (provide sizes such as 16, 24, 32, 48, 64 px).
- SVG: scalable vector for web and modern tooling.
- XAML (Vector Drawing or Path data): direct use within Windows Phone / UWP projects.
- Icon font (optional): an icon font (WOFF/TTF) for fast CSS/text integration.
Design specs to follow:
- Grid: design icons on a consistent grid (e.g., 24×24 or 30×30) to ensure alignment.
- Padding: leave equal internal margins so icons don’t appear cramped; typically 2–4 px at target sizes.
- Stroke or fill: choose either a monochrome stroke system (consistent stroke width) or a filled/glyph system — do not mix styles within the pack.
- Corner radius: if using rounded geometry, keep radii consistent across icons.
- Pixel alignment: hint or align strokes to pixel boundaries for sharp rendering at small sizes.
Visual style guidelines
- Silhouette clarity
- Create icons that read clearly when reduced. Avoid tiny detail.
- Simplify metaphors
- Use widely understood metaphors (e.g., envelope for mail, magnifier for search).
- Consistent geometry
- Use consistent curve radii, stroke caps, and corner treatments.
- Limited details
- Avoid inner strokes or multiple layers unless they scale well.
- Mono vs. colored icons
- Metro favors monochrome glyphs that adapt to accent colors; include light/dark variants.
Accessibility and localization
- Contrast: ensure icons meet contrast ratios against background tiles or content areas—avoid subtle mid-gray on light backgrounds.
- Scalable text alternatives: provide accessible names (aria-labels / AutomationProperties.Name in XAML) for assistive technologies.
- Cultural sensitivity: verify metaphors for international audiences (e.g., mailbox shapes differ by region).
- RTL support: ensure icons that imply direction (arrows, play controls) look correct when mirrored for right-to-left layouts if the platform mirrors UI.
Packaging and delivery
Provide a clear folder structure and documentation:
- /PNG/ — folders by size (16, 24, 32, 48)
- /SVG/ — single-file scalable icons
- /XAML/ — ResourceDictionary or individual Path geometry files
- /Font/ — icon font files and CSS snippets
- /Docs/ — usage instructions, licensing, naming conventions, and a changelog
Include a demo project or sample XAML showing how to reference icons, apply accent colors, and switch between light/dark modes.
Licensing and naming
- Choose a license aligned with your goals: permissive (MIT, SIL OFL) for wide adoption or proprietary with clear terms for commercial use.
- Use predictable, searchable filenames: e.g., mail-outline.svg, mail-filled.svg, settings-gear.xaml.
- Include a manifest listing all icons and their semantic names to help developers find the correct glyph.
Monetization and distribution
Options:
- Free with attribution (builds audience).
- Freemium: core set free, extended sets paid.
- Marketplace: sell through your website, UI marketplaces (Gumroad, Creative Market), or developer asset stores.
- Bundles: pair icons with templates, UI kits, or XAML controls.
Promote with a lightweight demo app that demonstrates icons in real UI contexts (tile, app bar, lists).
Example icon set concepts
- Essential UI Pack (email, phone, camera, settings, search, share)
- Social & Communication Pack (chat, contact, group, call, video)
- Media Controls Pack (play, pause, stop, skip, volume)
- Productivity Pack (calendar, task, note, pin, sync)
- E-commerce Pack (cart, wallet, tag, receipt, shipping)
Each pack should follow the same stroke/fill decisions and grid.
Integration tips for Windows Phone / UWP developers
- Use XAML VectorIcons or Path data to keep the UI resolution-independent and theme-aware.
- Bind icon color to the system accent or app resource brushes so icons adapt to theme changes.
- For performance, combine small icons into a sprite or use vector glyphs embedded in a font when appropriate.
- Test icons at real device resolutions and in both theme modes.
Common pitfalls to avoid
- Mixing stroke and filled styles in the same pack.
- Relying on tiny decorative detail that disappears at small sizes.
- Ignoring platform conventions (e.g., the system app bar icon styles).
- Shipping only raster formats without scalable sources.
Resources and tools
- Vector editors: Adobe Illustrator, Affinity Designer, Inkscape.
- XAML tooling: Blend for Visual Studio, Visual Studio Resource Editor.
- Export helpers: scripts/plugins that batch-export PNGs, generate XAML paths, or build icon fonts.
Closing
A well-designed Metro-style icon pack balances simplicity, consistency, and technical readiness: clear silhouettes, a shared grid and stroke system, scalable formats (SVG/XAML), and developer-friendly packaging. Whether you’re designing for a small indie app or building a commercial UI kit, following these guidelines will make your icon pack feel native to the Modern UI ecosystem and easy for developers to adopt.
Leave a Reply