Set of various icons including shopping bag, suitcase, sunrise, magnifying glass, bell, smartphone, printer, shopping cart, luggage, sun, speech bubbles, eye, gear, calendar, credit card, airplane seat, building, tag, receipt, profile, car with key, target, location pin, gift box, group of people, bus, medical cross, and checkmark, with 'Alaska Airlines' logo in the center.

PROJECT OVERVIEW

In this project, I focused on modifying Alaska Airlines icons. This involved analyzing existing icons and designing missing counterparts while maintaining the brand’s core identity (friendly, minimal, and flat). The result is a cohesive icon system that feels intuitive and look like they belong together.

GOAL

To organize and standardize 150+ icon pairs. Icons with only one version will be adapted that supports both active and inactive states (filled/stroke). This approach ensures usability between light and dark modes and visual consistency across all platforms.

My Role

UI Designer

5 Months

Time Frame

Tools

Figma

Illustrator

Design Approach

This was my first time working with a structured design system and designing icons. As a designer I felt overwhelmed and inadequate upon taking this task. A crucial part of this journey involved research to learn about the principles of icon design, watching several video tutorials, reading and familiarizing myself with Alaska’s Auro design system, as well as setting up meetings with senior designers as resource for guidance.

This initial research and discovery phase was a pivotal point for me as a designer. It allowed me to explore and make mistakes while receiving constructive feedback from my mentor and fellow designers from different teams. This process gave me the tools of knowledge and confidence to begin developing sets of icons.

Infographic titled "Design Guidelines" with sections on Stroke, Radius, and Fill. It includes icons with measurements: a tag and calendar showing 1.5px stroke, a printer with 3px radius, and two gift icons labeled Filled and Outline.
Diagram illustrating a grid system for icon design. It mentions using a 20-pixel grid with a 24-pixel artboard, highlighting the "live area" for layout. Includes examples of icons scaled in three sizes: small (16 pixels), medium (24 pixels), and large (32 pixels). A shopping bag icon demonstrates the scaling.
Icons representing ideation concepts, including shopping bags, printers, buildings, chairs, gifts, spray bottles, buses, and chat symbols displayed on a blue background.
Comparison of stroke and filled icons, including sun, suitcase, shopping bag, bell, shopping cart, eye, buildings, suitcase, credit card, vehicle, power outlet, receipt, map pin, bus, airplane seat, gift, and cell phone icons.