Both Illustrator and Sketch give users the ability to create custom grid sizes. The ability to create custom grids is a mainstay for creating icons for different size requirements such as 16 x 16, 32 x 32, 64 x 64, and so forth. The question was simple: What tools do you currently use to design icons that you cannot live without? The responses were nearly unanimous and the tasks fall into two categories: drawing tools and workflow tools. The panel included Hemmo De Jonge (Dutch Icon), Tom Nulens (Sodafish), Vincent le Moign (Webalys), and Ion Popa (Popcic). I wanted to try to avoid making this article about my own process so I conducted an informal survey of a few friends who also design icons and are all Adobe Illustrator users. How we do our work is influenced as much by our tools as by the work to be done.

Sketch is quickly becoming the tool of choice for many app and web designers. Sketch already has a lot of traction among icon designers, including Jon Hicks of Hicks Design. Sketch, by Bohemian Coding, is a two-time Apple Design Award Winner in 20.

Illustrator affinity designer