What icon libraries does Pictogrammers provide?

Updated

Pictogrammers currently features two main icon libraries: Material Design Icons (MDI) and Material Design Icons Light (MDI Light). Both are open-source and aimed at designers and developers who need icons for prototypes, apps, or code. The right choice depends mainly on whether you want the broadest possible icon set (MDI) or a lighter visual style (MDI Light).

Material Design Icons (MDI)

MDI is described by Pictogrammers as "the original" library and its largest. It follows Google's Material Design guidelines for system icons and contains over 7,200 unique icons.

Choose MDI if:

  • You need the widest coverage of icon concepts and variants.
  • You want an icon set that follows Google's Material Design system icon guidelines.
  • You are building an app or interface where icon availability matters more than a slimmed-down visual style.

The library is browsable on the site, so you can search and preview icons before using them.

Material Design Icons Light (MDI Light)

MDI Light is a lighter take on Google's Material Design guidelines. Pictogrammers describes it as slimming icons down to be modern, crisp, and clean.

Choose MDI Light if:

  • You want a lighter visual weight than standard MDI.
  • Your interface calls for a modern, minimal, clean look.
  • You still want to stay within the Material Design family of guidelines.

Like MDI, it is presented as a browsable library for designers and developers.

How the two libraries compare

Dimension Material Design Icons (MDI) Material Design Icons Light (MDI Light)
Positioning The original, largest library A lighter spin on Material Design guidelines
Visual style Standard Material Design system icons Slimmer, modern, crisp, clean
Icon count Over 7,200 unique icons Not stated in the source material
Base guidelines Google Material Design (system icons) Google Material Design, light interpretation
Intended users Designers and developers Designers and developers
Access Browsable library on the site Browsable library on the site

How to decide

  • Pick MDI when breadth and adherence to standard Material Design system icons are the priority.
  • Pick MDI Light when the same Material Design foundation is fine but you want a lighter, cleaner visual treatment.
  • Use both if your project has areas that benefit from standard-weight icons and others that suit a lighter style — they share a common design lineage.

Getting involved

Pictogrammers is a collaborative, global open-source group. If you want to contribute beyond using the libraries, the site lists ways to help: tackling issues and icon requests on a library, writing or updating documentation, or building an integration that doesn't yet exist. Questions can be directed to the team via Mastodon or by opening a GitHub issue.