"A Gleam of Red" - A Vintage icon set by Design and Photography by Rachel
The idea I wanted to convey with these icons was a vintage, old-timey vibe. I thought of as many things I could that screamed the word "old-fashioned" and created them. The color scheme is based on my brand's colors (Design and Photography by Rachel) and I hope to use these icons on my website, as my photography brand style is a creamy, vintage feel. I chose toned-down colors with a splash of a deep red to add color but keep with the vintage feel.
Naturally, I started my project with sketching. And I started my sketching with brainstorming. I thought of all the words I associated with the word "vintage" and proceeded to sketch. Now, something I LOVE about using Illustrator and other such creative software is that while I'm a TERRIBLE artist when it comes to drawing, I can transfer my rough sketches from paper into beautiful smooth lines and perfect circles on the computer. So my sketches mainly serve the purpose of coming up with shapes and ideas, and then I'm able to create a much cleaner version with Illustrator.
Theses sketches helped me come up with different ways of doing different items. I drew multiple versions of most (but not all) of the objects I drew. Some of the icons I designed were based on the first sketch, and a few of them are based on the second. I love sketching because it only takes a few seconds to test out an idea, and then if I don't like it I haven't wasted 20 minutes designing it on Illustrator.
My first version of my icon sets included a thick stroke and a lot of uncertainty about shadows/highlights/texture, etc.
It blows my mind to see the difference between my first and second drafts of things. Inevitably, there is a MASSIVE difference. One thing that helped me was feedback from one of my classmates; she suggested that I simplify the ruffles on the dress and make it more like lace and less like rigid triangles, and that I take away the stroke from them. I implemented her advice and changed that part of the dress completely, and I took her advice about strokes and took the strokes away from all of my icons.
The final result includes no strokes, consistent highlights and shadows, and cleaner corners and shapes.
The icons successfully present vintage, quaint items with a consistent toned-down color scheme. The images all have elements of structure and 3-dimensional shapes, and the highlights and shadows are consistent. The colors and shapes contribute to the creamy, old-fashioned, vintage feel and effectively communicate the message.
