Introducing the Icon Wizard: Where F.A.R.T.S. Become Arts

Podcast Awesome

Designing custom icons is a gas-tly important part of modern design. It can make or break a brand, and sometimes you just need to let one rip and add a bit of spice to a website or app. However, creating custom icons can be a real stinker – a time-consuming and tedious task that can leave you feeling deflated. But don't worry, the Font Awesome team has a new feature that's a real breath of fresh air: The Icon Wizard — otherwise known by the internal code name, F.A.R.T.S (Font Awesome Reusable Tidbits and Shapes.) The Icon Wizard is a new-ish Font Awesome feature that allows Pro users to add icon modifiers, which allows for nearly limitless icon options!
Join us as we yuck it up with Jory Raphael, Mike Wilkerson, and Ed Emanuel from the Font Awesome team as we channel our inner middle schooler humor (and talk about the making of very serious software, of course!)
The project was conceived during the team's Snacktivities, which are small creative projects undertaken during their gatherings. While the initial concept did not focus on customizing icons, it evolved into the idea of applying modifiers to icons to create unique variations. The team's enthusiasm and dedication to the project led to its development during their collaborative sessions.

The Icon Wizard project presented challenges, such as user interface design and technical issues related to SVG fill rules. Despite these obstacles, the team worked together to overcome them and create a functional and user-friendly feature. This feature allowed users to select and apply modifiers to icons, providing them with the flexibility to customize icons according to their preferences.

Aside from the obviously humorous nature of this conversation, the tea, explores the practicality of the feature, highlighting the ability to add useful modifiers like a slash or a circle-plus to any icon in different styles. The team's playful banter and creative thinking during the development process added a fun and lighthearted element to the project, showcasing their innovative and humorous approach to icon design and customization.

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Time Stamps

[00:00:43] Icon Wizard project and F.A.R.T.S.

[00:04:34] Customizable Icons.

[00:09:38] Challenges with SVG fill rules.

[00:11:16] SVG path winding rules.

[00:14:43] Modifier challenges and favorites.

[00:19:25] Icon Wizard and modifiers.

[00:22:26] Burrito modifiers and bacon.
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Show Notes

https://fontawesome.com/icons
The Font Awesome theme song was composed by Ronnie Martin
Audio mastering by Chris Enns and Lemon Productions

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