Inside Icon Design: Jory Raphael & Noah Jacobus on Font Awesome’s Creative Evolution
In this episode of Podcast Awesome, Matt sits down with Font Awesome’s pixel-pushing power duo, Jory Raphael and Noah Jacobus. It’s a deep dive into the art and nerdery of icon design, from the origins of Font Awesome to the philosophy behind its newest visual frontier: the Sharp family of styles.
Jory lets us in on how a longtime “designer crush” led to hiring Noah, and the two get real about what makes an icon actually, well...iconic. Along the way, they share design secrets, reminisce on the Kickstarter days, and explain how constraint is the mother of creativity.
Whether you're a seasoned designer or someone who just really likes a well-drawn pencil icon, this episode's got you covered with smart takes, strong opinions, and a whole lotta SVG love.
💬 What We Cover in This Episode
🎨 Designer Crush Confessions – how admiration turned into collaboration
💼 From Symbolset to Font Awesome – the acquisition that made sense
🎥 Kickstarter Chaos – behind the scenes of the big launch video
🧠 Designing for Clarity – what makes an icon communicate well
🖼️ Icons as Fine Art – yep, they're basically the cave paintings of the digital age
📏 Embracing Constraints – why limits fuel creativity
🔄 Font Awesome 6 Makeover – the redesign that refreshed the whole brand
🎯 Tips for Budding Designers – how to train your eye and your pencil tool
⏱️ Timestamps
00:00:39 – Designer Crushes
00:05:57 – Font Awesome acquires Symbolset
00:08:19 – Creating a video for Kickstarter
00:11:20 – Designing niche icons
00:12:10 – Design icons to convey meaning
00:13:40 – The power of icons
00:17:02 – Icons as a continuation of art
00:18:12 – Creativity thrives with constraints
00:23:36 – Font Awesome 6 redesign
00:24:45 – Icon design tips
00:28:49 – Developing artistic taste
00:30:29 – Practice makes perfect
00:33:00 – Constantly improving design quality
🔥 Top Noteworthy Quotes
🎨 On Creative Admiration and Hiring
"Noah for a while now has been one of my designer crushes." – Jory
(Followed by:)
"All the work he creates is beautiful and engaging and lovely. The way I got over my jealousy of Noah’s work was to hire him."
🕶️ On Good Design Being Invisible
"Good design is invisible, right? If we’re doing our jobs correctly, people aren’t noticing it." – Jory
🎯 On the Joy of Constraints
"I really like constraints. They engender creativity." – Noah
"Knowing the box you’re trying to fill in lets you reroute your decisions in more creative ways."
💾 On the Real Impact of Their Work
"I love being able to say: oh yeah, that’s one of our icons right there. You’ve seen our stuff—you just didn’t know it." – Jory
💡 On Artistic Growth and Imperfection
🤯 On Self-Awareness (and Icon Designer Humor)
"I fooled you all and you’ll eventually discover I have no idea what I’m doing." – Noah
🔗 Links & Resources
- Font Awesome – Icons you love (and some you didn’t know you needed)
- Symbolset – The icon font predecessor acquired by FA
- 🎵 Theme song by Ronnie Martin
- 🎚️ Audio mastered by Chris Enns at Lemon Productions
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