The Noun Project
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Graphic design, Digital media |
| Founded | December 2010 |
| Founder | Sofya Polyakov, Edward Boatman, Scott Thomas |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles , United States |
Key people | Sofya Polyakov (CEO) |
| Products | Icon database and visual symbol repository |
| Website | thenounproject |
The Noun Project is a platform headquartered in Los Angeles that collects and organizes icons created and submitted by graphic designers from around the world. It functions as both a comprehensive typographic symbol resource and a repository documenting the evolution of visual communication.
History
The Noun Project was established by Sofya Polyakov, Edward Boatman, and Scott Thomas, with Polyakov serving as CEO. The idea originated from Boatman’s dissatisfaction with the absence of a unified icon database during his architectural career. The project launched on Kickstarter in December 2010, successfully raising more than $14,000, and included public domain icons sourced from organizations such as the National Park Service. The website’s design was developed by Simple.Honest.Work, with backing from the Designer Fund.
To grow its collection and foster community involvement, The Noun Project organizes "Iconathons"—intensive five-hour workshops where designers, subject matter experts, and volunteers collaborate on themes like democracy, transportation, and nutrition. This concept was inspired by Chacha Sikes of Code for America.
Operation
The platform’s contributors hail from all over the globe. A 2012 New York Times feature spotlighted Luis Prado, a graphic designer at the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, who added 83 icons representing his agency’s work, including images like a pruning saw, a logging truck, and a symbol for global warming he developed due to the absence of suitable options.
The Noun Project maintains four core design principles: emphasize fundamental features, ensure stylistic consistency, favor an industrial aesthetic over hand-drawn visuals, and exclude subjective emotions or personal viewpoints. Contributors may select either public domain or Creative Commons attribution licenses, permitting free use provided attribution is given. Users can opt to remove attribution for a small fee, which is divided between the creator and The Noun Project. Although originally intended for designers and architects, the platform is also utilized by individuals with autism and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, as well as business professionals incorporating symbols into their presentations.