Buttons, Badges, and Icons – oh my! It’s time for another tutorial roundup, and this time we’re gonna be a little more specialized. Use this guide to develop your skills to create icons, badges and buttons for both web and app design.
As always, keep in mind that these tutorials are not here for you to copy and submit! They’re here to teach you the valuable skills you need to make your own original designs.
Getting Started
Ok, technically these aren’t tutorials. But they’re all super useful articles that’ll help you make a game plan for your design before you even start working:
- 7 Principles of Effective Icon Design
- Badge Design & Inspiration
- Principles for Successful Button Design
Icon Design
Learn How to Quickly Create Tasty Social Icons using Photoshop
Program: Photoshop
Level: Beginner
Skills: Filters, Gradients, Patterns, Opacity
How to Turn Glasses into a Great Geek Icon
Program: Illustrator
Level: Intermediate
Skills: Turning a photograph into an original vector design, Pen Tool, Gradients, Effect
Create a Star Trek Style Communicator in Photoshop
Program: Photoshop
Level: Intermediate
Skills: Layers, Opacity, Pen Tool, Gradients, Brushes, Clipping Mask, Styles, Paths
Creating Vector Characters in Illustrator
Program: Illustrator
Level: Advanced
Skills: Planning your Design, Vectorizing a Sketch, Tools, Brushes, Fill Color, Gradients
Badge Design
Easy Wax Seal in Illustrator and Photoshop
Programs: Illustrator and Photoshop
Level: Intermediate
Skills: Tools, Layer Styles, Blend Mode, Bevel and Emboss, Filters
Make a Retro/Vintage Style Badge
Programs: Illustrator and Photoshop
Level: Beginner
Skills: Pathfinder, Offset Paths, Effects
How to Create a Knight’s Shield in Illustrator
Program: Illustrator
Level: Beginner
Skills: Tools, Pathfinder, Objects, Color Swatches, Opacity, Transform
Button Design
Design a Beautifully Detailed Web Button
Program: Photoshop
Level: Beginner
Skills: Fill Layer, Tools, Layer Styling, Gradient Overlay, Strokes
How to Create a Mexican Lucha Libre Mask Pink Badge
Program: Illustrator
Level: Intermediate
Skills: Tools, Objects, Effects, Alignment
How to Draw Apple ICloud Icon
Program: Photoshop
Level: Beginner
Skills: Layer Styles, Shapes, Filters
Other Helpful Tutorials
How to Create an iPad 2 From Scratch Using Photoshop
Program: Photoshop
Level: Advanced
Skills: Free Transform, Blending Options, Layer Style, Clipping Mask, Smart Objects, Layer Management
How to Create Inset Typography in Photoshop
Program: Photoshop
Level: Beginning
Skills: Gradient Overlay, Tools, Layer Styles, Blending Options
Create a Wood Grain Texture and a Brushed Metal Texture
Program: Illustrator
Level: Beginner
Skills: Gradient, Effects, Objects, Transforming, Tools, Graphic Pen
Create Amazing Patterns Using Adobe Illustrator
Program: Illustrator
Level: Intermediate
Skills: Pattern Brush, Objects, Transform, Smart Guides, Effects
