Iconfinder.net - Search Engine for Icons

In the market for icons? Iconfinder is a search engine for...you guessed it...icons. You simply enter in a search term (or use the search clouds for key words), or enter tags and see what comes up. The site is new and the content is minimal. The icons that do exist on the site are labelled by the type of protection they have --whether they are part of the creative commons and can be shared or if they have copyright protection and cannot be shared without legal permission. Luckily, the site links you to the sites explaining these different levels of protection. Soon the site hopes to allow people to download thier own icons. Since the site was started by a guy still in school, the site upgrades are slow.

Welcome to the new iconfinder blog. My name is Martin Leblanc and I’m the developer/designer of the Iconfinder search engine. After some startup problems the search engine is now ready. In late April the website was Digg‘ed and on frontpage of Lifehacker resulting in massive traffic which the hosting solution wasn’t prepared for. I decided to get another host, develop a better search algorithm and design but didn’t have time because of examns. Now it’s summer in Denmark (were I live) and it’s raining all the time, so I have plenty of time on my hands. I have added new features, such as the size-selector and search cloud. Soon You will be able to sign, write comments on icons and submit Your own.

Icons are often the key branding mechanism for products and services, if not just the universally identified icons that allow anyone to understand their meaning (think of a stop sign). This site, once it builds up its database, could be a good free resource for discovering and utilizing public or private icons. For such a young site with minimal content, it has a high traffic volume.

Why do people search for icons, exactly? Is it to help create their own icon branding, to decipher an icon they see but don't understand, or to figure out what the icon is for a certain word or expression? Maybe all of the above? I admit I don't really see the utility of this site, but I'm sure that is because I'm not a graphic designer or icon-maker.