One of the other attractive features of slot machines are their stylish icons or symbols. The theme of fruits has become a favorite of many gaming software providers. The icons of fruits have been used in slot machines of land-based casinos since long. In recent times, they are also used in the fruit-themed online slots.

History of fruit icons in slot machines

During the early days of slot machines in land-based casinos, the icons were numbers. Some casinos manipulated the slot machines to prevent players from winning. This caused lots of people to lose their hard-earned money. Soon, these unethical practices by some casinos were discovered by the authorities. A ban on gaming and slot machines followed in the early 20th century. 

The slots appeared once again when the casinos in Nevada opened their doors to gamblers. This time, the manufacturers of slot machines decided to include icons in them that didn’t have numbers. As a result, more design-friendly options were used, such as fruit and bubblegum. With the ban still on, the casinos got slot machines designed in a different manner. 

Now, the gamblers were paid in gum instead of cash upon winning. In this way, the casino owners were able to avoid suspicion from the law enforcement authorities. They convinced the law enforcement officials that the machines were nothing more than vending machines.

The popularity of fruit icons in today’s online slots

In recent times, online casinos have become immensely popular across the world. They have slot games with various themes and icons to make the gaming experience more exciting. Despite so many varieties in symbols, fruit icons have still maintained their popularity. 

Even today, there are hundreds of online casinos that provide fruit-themed slot games. Their popularity is not restricted to the online casinos. The fruit icons have retained their popularity in land-based casinos as well. Be it Las Vegas or Atlantic city, thousands of slot machines still use fruit icons in them. 

There are some online casinos that have fruit-themed slots offering free spins for new players who sign-up on them. One can know more about online casinos that provide free spins and other attractive bonuses on casino review sites. 

Casino review sites such as Best online Casinos Canada are full of valuable information for new as well as experienced players. Some of the best online casinos are reviewed and rated on these sites by experts. They also guide players on how to play the slots and other games responsibly. Players find such information extremely useful in choosing the best online casinos for placing their bets. You can also try some online slots on the site for free.

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1. Having a clear purpose for designing icons

There must be a clear purpose for designing an icon. You might think what kind of icons you need for your website or app. However, before this, you must be clear on why you need them. You wouldn’t need them just because you think they’re visually appealing. 

Even the prettiest of icons get lost in this crowded digital world. The best way to begin is by considering navigation. Some of the social media websites and apps have simple, yet practical icons. This can be great for easy navigation. Additionally, including text along with the icons can be of immense help for users. 

2. Understand your audience well

There are a few things you must consider before designing the icons. First is to never assume things. Next, be clear on who your users are. You might also want to consider why, how, where, and when they’ll be using your product or service. Taking the cultural norms into consideration is also important, especially if the design is targeting a specific country.

3. Do some careful planning

It requires a lot of attention to detail and careful planning to create and integrate icons. You’ll need to see where they would be used on the website or app. Next, you may have to understand how often will the icons be used. You might also want to see whether text needs to be used along with the icons.

4. Decide on the size of the icons

Another key rule for designing icons is to think about scalability and size. Most of the icons are created in the form of PNG files. Although they allow for pixel perfection, they don’t scale. Larger icons need deeper and richer designing while the smaller ones require less detail. There are two approaches when it comes to handling the size of the icon. 

One is the top-down approach. It involves designing for the largest screen size in the most detail. Then it can be refined for the smaller sizes. Second approach is the mobile-first approach. In this approach, the smallest icon is designed first and then the details are added as you scale up.

5. Have an understanding of different formats

Being familiar with different formats and having the ability to assess their merits can be helpful when designing icons. Earlier the common image format was GIF, which would certainly have quality issues today. The PNG format can help in achieving higher quality, but they aren’t scalable. The ideal file format that’s universal and scalable is the SVG format.

6. Never manipulate icons of other brands

In this crowded digital world, it’s a common practice among designers to manipulate icons and logos of other brands. They mostly do it to meet their tight deadlines and ease their burden. This can lead to a lot of issues later on and must therefore be avoided.

7. Keep a good balance between form and function

When designing an icon, it is essential that the form and function be balanced. This is something that has been a topic of debate for years. Some prefer form over function while others have a liking for function. In reality, both are important from the perspective of designing icons for websites and apps.

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There are third parties who provide many icons for different apps in a single pack. Some of them give entirely new styles to the icons on the home screen. Others maintain the original look of the icons, but make some slight adjustments in shape or design. Downloading these icon packs is incredibly easy. 

However, you’ll have to see whether enabling of these icons is supported by the stock launcher. The Google Play Store has many such packs that are quite simple to install. You can simply browse through the available ones and find a pack that appeals the most to your smartphone. Besides, it must suit your personal taste as well.

Installing the icon packs

Depending on your phone, you may need to take certain steps to get the pack installed on it. Your Android launcher may or may not support icon packs. For example, if you have a Samsung smartphone, you can install some icon packs found in ‘Themes’. 

The Oxygen launcher of OnePlus phones are usually compatible with almost all the icon packs. It is important to remember that some of these packs may not work with all Android launchers. This may be the case even if the launchers support custom icon packs. In a Google Pixel or any smartphone with a stock version of Android, icon packs won’t work right away. 

One of the solutions for this would be to install an alternative launcher from the Play Store. There are many launchers available today and many of them support custom icons. Most of them might also have added features like added home screen customization. Among the most recommended launchers are Nova Launcher and Apex Launcher. 

They’re simple launchers that stay true to Android but also enable you to use the icon packs. Nova Launcher would be the best if you wish to keep things quite close to stock Android. If you wish to have some tweaks for a cleaner style, go for Apex Launcher. Both these launchers are widely supported by the creators of icon packs.

Types of icon packs for Android smartphones

Some of these packs are minimalist and simple. They keep a consistent style between all the icons and make the home screen of the phone look simple. Such icon packs may also have white and dark versions. There are others that feature cute-looking, colorful icons. Some packs make the icons look a bit pixelated, which would appeal to you if you’re into pixel art. 

You’ll also find certain icon packs that give a shadow effect to the icons. Additionally, they may also provide new colours or shapes to the icons. If you like customizing the appearance of your phone’s home screen, the icon packs are a perfect choice. As most of the packs are available for free, you’ll not be quite concerned about trying them. 

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Icons are among the elements widely used in this digital age. However, their roots go back to the ancient times. The importance of iconography can be understood from the fact that they were used in different human civilizations. Icons provide information visually without any distractions and this is their fundamental purpose.

They describe functions

Words can be used to explain the functions of a particular section of an app or a website. This is the most direct approach, but can easily put off many users. They may lose focus with too much text and skip the message entirely. 

Adding icons, therefore, would be a truly effective approach for describing the functions. They bring a fun element to the section and also visually explain the message to users. The people going through the section can easily relate to the icon and understand the explanation without much efforts.

They explain processes

A website or an app can have several functionalities that require the users to take certain actions. Most of the times, such actions need to be taken in a step-by-step manner. Each of these steps can be represented visually in a brilliant way with the use of icons. 

This also eliminates the need to use lengthy texts to explain the process. Many websites and apps use a combination of audio and icons to facilitate better understanding of a process. 

They help users in filling web forms

One of the best ways to establish a great relationship with your customer is by using web forms. The time spent on attracting users to the website or app must be complemented with efforts to retain them. One of the effective ways to create a great user experience is including web forms. 

Such forms must not contain any random questions, as they can make the user leave immediately. The questions must be relevant and accompanied by icons at the right places. The idea behind this is to get the web form completed instantly and with ease. 

They facilitate easy navigation

As they are highly effective in explaining concepts visually, icons can also be used to make website navigation easier. They’re often used as distinctive elements that are easier to locate on a website or an app. Once the user is able to locate the icon, he or she can be easily given the desired information. 

For example, let’s take a business that offers four different services. It can have the four services listed on its website’s homepage with each having a specific icon. When you click on one of the icons, you’ll be able to understand what the service is all about.

They enhance the look of websites or apps

Icons can add some style to the websites or apps. Many different styles of icons are available today. Among them are the ones that use shadows, reliefs, and planes. Some are linear while there are others that have 3D effects. When a specific icon is used on a website or app, it adds personality to the overall design. When using icons, it is important to see that they fit the website’s or app’s aesthetics perfectly.

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Each of these qualities must be considered while designing a new set of icons. It must start with the general aspects and then move towards the specifics. Even if the intention is to create a single icon, these three qualities can still be incorporated in it. The three qualities are elaborated below:

1. Form 

This is the foundational structure of an icon and indicates how it has been made. In order to make a circle, a square, a vertical rectangle, or a more organic shape, it is necessary to have an underlying structure. Simply drawing a line around the major shapes will not give the desired output. 

A visually stable foundation for designing icon is created by the primary geometric shapes. They are the square, the triangle, and the circle. For example, in order to create an animal’s head, one may draw two triangles and two ellipses. One may begin a drawing by sketching the simplest and largest shapes. 

Then he or she can start refining towards greater detail. The key is to start with the simplest shapes and then go on adding more detail. One must always remember that only the detail needed to communicate the concept is required.

2. Recognizability

It is an outcome of the essence of an icon or a particular aspect that makes an icon unique. How easily the user understands the object, idea, or action depicted by the icon ultimately decides its success. Recognizability involves presenting the properties that the user commonly associates with the idea. 

It can also involve some unexpected and unique elements. One must understand that recognizability is not all about comprehension of an object, idea, or action. It is also about recognition of the unique icon set. Considering this, it can be concluded that aesthetic unity and recognition can often overlap. 

For example, there are two dogs having their own unique color, ear shape, and head shape. They can still be recognized as a part of the same set. This is owing to their shared elements of design and style.

3. Aesthetic unity

Aesthetic unity refers to the elements shared within a single icon and across an icon pack. These elements can be rounded or square corners, limited and consistent line weights, and the specific size of corners. They can also be the style, the color palette, and others. Aesthetic unity can be achieved when the designer repeats the choices throughout the icon pack. 

This is usually done with the intention of visually keeping it together as a whole. For example, in three dog icons, there can be common elements. They may include rounded corners, thick stroke around the faces of these dog icons, and their heart-shaped noses. Thus, the common design and style elements shared by the dog icons create aesthetic unity.

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There was a time when websites used to have lengthy content to describe the products and services of the business. Now, they are using iconography to present their products and services in a better way. When using iconography in website design, there are certain mistakes that must be avoided to create an excellent user experience. Here are some of them: 

1. Using icons to just fill in the space

It is extremely important that the users understand the icons while browsing the website. Often, many businesses make the mistake of using icons just to fill in the gaps. As a result, the icons fail to serve a purpose and just appear like some random, unwanted stock photos. 

This would obviously confuse the user. Today, icons must be treated more like a great ad copy on the websites. To make this happen, the focus must be on communicating the most important thing as quickly as possible. The information also needs to be presented with the help of icons in a way that’s easily digestible.

2. Excessive use of icons

Iconography must undoubtedly be a part of the website’s design and branding strategy. This is especially true in case of responsive sites. However, the icons only support the design and copy. They are never the entire brand and design of the website in themselves. 

It’s not necessary to have an icon for every single product or service that is being offered. Using an icon for each of the product or service offered by the business results in information overload. A few good icons for describing the major offerings of the business is what’s required.

3. Not accompanying icons with a good copy

Icons may not communicate all the required information by themselves. Often, they need a good copy to convey the intended message to the users. They must be treated more like signposts to catch the attention of users. Icons generally tell the website’s visitors what the accompanying copy is all about before they even read it. 

No potential customer buys the product or service just by seeing the icons. A well-written copy is always required to describe the products and services to the users. So, it is quite obvious that a website needs to have a good combination of icons and copy.

5. Trying to complicate rather than simplifying

Designers need to be clever and the people giving them instructions must be clever as well. Problems arise when they try to be too clever and complicate things. Unfortunately, this happens quite often while incorporating iconography in the website designs. 

The designers and the individuals supervising them often try to force users to understand the brand, product, or service. This is a serious mistake and must be avoided at all costs. Iconography is something that must be crystal clear all the time. Only then it serves the purpose for which it is being used.

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This is the reason why most of the apps and websites use icons. Despite such advantages, icons can create negative user experiences if they’re not placed on websites the right way. This happens mostly when the designers hide functionalities behind the icons, thus confusing the users. Icons must guide users in the right direction and this is their primary function.

Types of Icons

A product, service, action, or idea must be presented well with the use of icons. If this is not done, they’re reduced to just a visual noise causing hindrances to the site’s visitors. Universal, conflicting, and unique icons are the three types you’ll generally come across. Each of them can be described as given below:

1. Universal icons: There are a few icons that enjoy a universal recognition. Among them are the ones used to indicate home, search, and a shopping cart. Any other icon used for indicating such things can confuse the users. Their meaning can also differ depending on the interface.

2. Conflicting icons: Commonly used pictograms can lead to contradictory meanings when used on the website. The most suitable examples in this context are the heart and star icons. The functionality indicated by these two icons vary from app to app.

It is this conflict that makes these icons difficult to interpret. The user may expect a particular outcome and get something different. This acts as an impediment to the user’s understanding of these icons.

3. Unique icons: They are a bad choice for anything abstract and fail to convey a concept. As they are not strong visual representations of the concept, they fail in guiding the users. One of the best examples would be the icon for Apple’s Game Center app. The icon is presented as a group of colorful circles. It doesn’t relate to gaming in any way.

Simple strategies for choosing an appropriate icon

There are some simple techniques and strategies that can be quite effective in choosing a proper icon. Using them, the designers can create the best user experiences by avoiding confusions. Here are some of the strategies that can be extremely useful:

1. Using labels to clarify unfamiliar icons: To create a good user experience, it is necessary that the user is not made to think too much. Including a text label can be an effective way of clarifying the meaning of an icon. The user must have clarity on what’s going to happen before he or she performs an action. 

2. Making icons ideal for touch-based interfaces: People interact with interfaces that are touch-based by using their fingers. It is, therefore, necessary that the icons be big enough for correctly capturing the actions of fingertips. Users generally get frustrated with tiny icons that trigger unintended actions.

3. Test the icons well before implementation: Before the icons are included in the design of a website or app, they must be tested for usability. It is done by observing how a first-time user interacts with the user interface. This helps in determining whether the icons are clear enough for the user and are of the appropriate size.

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They use the software to such an extent that they memorize keyboard shortcuts and become familiar with the layouts. It is, therefore, important that the design software they use is intuitive and flexible. Here are some of the best graphic design software that designers can use to create fabulous icons and logos:

1. Adobe Photoshop

Of all the graphic design software, Adobe Photoshop is undoubtedly the most recognizable. Whether it’s basic cropping or more complex designing and image manipulations, this software is certainly reliable. It has retained its classic features like the pen tool as well as layers and masks. The most recent version has added some great tricks like the ‘Frame’ tool for easy masking. 

It also has the new Content-Aware Fill workspace. With practice, you can develop some wonderful skills in using the software to create icons, logos, and manipulated images. If you’re a beginner, it would take some time to get used to this software. Nevertheless, it offers plenty of design tools for impressive image editing. 

2. Adobe Illustrator

Some of the functions and tools are similar in Photoshop and Illustrator. However, Adobe Illustrator is more about vector design. The pen tool, mesh tool, swatches and colors, or Shape and Pathfinder tools are its highlights. They help designers create amazing logos, icons, sketches, and typography. 

Although it may take some time to learn this design software, it has unlimited potential for creating excellent designs. The software has a helpful user interface, great variety in tools, and can be used for precise editing.

3. Sketch

Available only on Mac, Sketch is used for creating some fantastic interfaces and icons. This design software is focused primarily on interface, website, and app design. Some of the developers prefer Sketch files over the layered files of Photoshop. The icons and interfaces that have been created with Sketch look great on mobile apps and websites. 

Using this software, designers can also create live comps. Developers can preview them by swiping or tapping and see how they’ll appear once published. The biggest advantage of Sketch is that it is less expensive than other popular graphic design software. It can also be ideal for beginners owing to its low learning curve.

4. Affinity Designer

When it comes to style and function, Affinity Designer never fails to impress. It is a low-cost alternative to Adobe Illustrator and is also relatively faster and easier. It has also received a lot of praise from the designer community for its effectiveness when working with layers. 

The software is quite simple for beginners and a powerful tool for expert freelance graphic artists on a budget. Affinity has also been upgraded lately with performance enhancements and new features. The only downside to this software is that it doesn’t have a few tools that Adobe Illustrator offers.

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A simple and effective way of drawing users to the content of your website is the use of icons. Icons serve a psychological purpose quite similar to a headline. A headline is mostly a preview of what the accompanying content would be all about. Similarly, content that’s combined with icons makes a web page visually appealing.

Using icons with great copy 

The main goal of using icons must be to help the visitor grasp the information provided on the website. Usually, this is done by using plenty of white space and including icons that don’t distract from the content. The use of icons gives even minimal content more substance and enriches it to a great extent. 

As a result, effective communication takes place without wordiness. It must also be kept in mind that icons must not replace copy. Their purpose is to draw attention to the copy and not replace it. If the services or products are listed, the use of icons will make the list more engaging.

Placement of the icons

Your website appears inviting, friendly, and professional with the use of icons. The visitors get the impression that you care about even the smallest details. You can get the icons placed creatively on the site’s header, sidebar, title, or feature lists. 

It must cover the point that you’re trying to get across in the paragraph. This will create an interest in readers to go through the text. However, the icons must be easily recognizable and closely related to the content. The placement and size of icons can be changed to make the content more interesting and dynamic.

Choosing the style of icons

When it comes to choosing the style of icons, you must look for ways to be more effective. Original icons would be great if the intention of the design is to be unique. The style of icons must match the overall theme of your website. It must be kept in mind that icons are used for enhancing the design and content. Simply purchasing a good-looking icon pack from a leading stock photo website won’t help. 

You must take into account the overall style of your website. Another crucial aspect to be considered while choosing icons is consistency. It is necessary that the icons match while grouping them on the website. Grouping mismatched icons would be a major design mistake and will make the site look unprofessional.

Keep it simple

Using simple icons along with a well-written copy makes the overall content look attractive and practical. This also makes it easier for the site’s visitors to understand the message being conveyed. Only then can it influence the website’s visitors to buy the product or service being offered.

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