They are struggling to raise enough money for a proper memorial, can you please help?.
A bunch of icons that are made up of just letters. For the most part, they are just a single letter, others sneak in a few at once. If you’ve come across any letter favicons, please send them my way.
actsofvolition.com
sizes: 16
aim.pp.ru
sizes: 16
airbagindustries.com
This distinctive “A” icon/logo is used throughout the site. I really like the way the bright color
stands out and like the logo. The letter is a nice font and has a bit of a worn look. Really wish that the image
itself increased in size along with the various icons supplied.
sizes: 16, 24, 32, 48
alazanto.org
Great icon! Uses the site’s overall brown background with white font so the letter
really stands out here. Even has a bit of the site’s border effect on the icon.
Bringing the “A” off the right edge of the icon is a nice effect yet the
letter remains easily identifiable as an “A”.
sizes: 16
alexisbarbosa.com
This favicon is the first letter of the baby’s name, using the same font and color as the masthead. At first,
I thought the letter was a bit too fuzzy, but then thought that was pretty appropriate for a baby’s site! :)
sizes: 16
alistapart.com
Uses the typography and color from the site’s ALA acronym. Works really well with the
current site design.
sizes: 16, 32, 48
amandabeard.net
Just the initials of the swimmer this site pays homage to; nothing fancy, but it works.
Uses vertical and horizontal space well with the diagonal positioning of the letters.
sizes: 16, 32, 48
aplus.co.yu
Taken directly from the site logo, this favicon is used throughout the site (header, bullet list, etc.). Clean,
simple and easy to read with a nice transparent background. It would be interesting to see how this would look if
it were larger (very little of the 16px space is used) and if it used the color scheme from the site instead of
just black & white.
format: ICO
iosart.com
sizes: 16
3bambous.com
A nice translation of the site’s logo, picking up the bamboo theme and colors from
the site. The background color of the icon is the same off-white as is used on the
site as well. The letter is almost too detailed for the icon, but ends up looking good.
sizes: 16
bernzilla.com
format: ICO
bestkungfu.com
Simple and to the point. Uses the acronym for the site name and matches the site color scheme.
Very readable for squishing 3 letters into such a small space.
sizes: 16
blangstrup.org
format: ICO
bluejake.net
sizes: 16
boingboing.net
sizes: 16
brandient.com
sizes: 16, 32, 48
brookelyn.org
Just the letter “B”. Works with the site’s background colors of grey and black.
Not sure if the icon is supposed to be the same font as the one used in the site masthead or not.
sizes: 16
brownglasses.com
A good, eye–catching favicon due to the bright background color. I like the way the letter is kept small
so that there’s lots of background color to stand out.
sizes: 16
brownglasses.com
An updated favicon for the site, with a bit more technical feel. Another nice, simple favicon with more emphasis
on the letter itself rather than the background color. The color and font aren’t used anywhere on the site,
so it doesn’t quite fit in. Easy to recognize, though, and I like the 3D effect.
sizes: 16
caedes.net
Simple treatment of the letter C, with grey-on-grey tones, taking a cue from the
site’s background color. The C itself doesn’t show up anywhere on the
site, but it works.
sizes: 16
chromasia.com
David Nightingale’s photography is amazing, simply amazing. The site is full of
things I wish I could do with my camera. The favicon picks up the grey color from the site,
which works well to let the photos take center stage. Other than the letter itself,
though, the icon doesn’t connect to the site much in any way.
sizes: 16, 32
clagnut.com
Simple icon that uses typography and color scheme of site; fits right in.
sizes: 16
codingforums.com
sizes: 16
collylogic.com
Plain old letter “c” taken from the site masthead, using the same
background color. The white text on dark background color stands out nicely.
sizes: 16
compusa.com
sizes: 16
cookiecrook.com
This looks like it might be 2 letter c's surrounding each other, with some interesting cropping. The end result is a
pretty cool visual effect. Looks like it’s using a key color from the site, but the favicon itself doesn’t
show up anywhere else.
format: GIF
cottonscrubs.com
sizes: 16
classicmotorsports.net
The magazine uses a pretty distinctive font for its logotype and the arrangement of the 2 letters is nice. The
font uses too many thin lines to translate well into a favicon.
format: ICO
d2.co.za
sizes: 16
davenetics.com
sizes: 16
december14.net
sizes: 16, 32
dezwozhere.com
sizes: 16
dirkhesse.com
sizes: 16
dlanham.com
sizes: 16
drawn.ca
Besides being a great resource for illustration and inspiration, the site also has a
good favicon. Picking up the first letter and exclamation point from the site logo, the
favicon ends up being unique and easily identifiable. I wish there was a larger verison
available to pick up some of the detail, but it does well at the 16px size.
sizes: 16
dubtastic.com
Nice graphic effect on a lowercase letter “d”. Nice change of pace from
using standard fonts. Doesn’t really match any of the typography on the page,
but that doesn’t really matter; looks good.
sizes: 16
Design Principles (resource.reh3.com)
A nice favicon that uses the first letter of the site name and the background color used on the site. Another nice
dotted border adds a little flair. The curved part of the letter is a little blurry, especially when
compared to the strong vertical line.
format: GIF saved as ICO
easyjet.com
sizes: 32
economist.com
sizes: 16
ericville.bgvc.net
sizes: 16
espn.go.com
sizes: 16
etsy.com
An interesting site to sell/buy homemade things. The favicon is taken from the site
header using the color and first letter with the distinctive font. The letter is a
little fuzzy at such a small size, but very recognizable and well done.
sizes: 16
explorelearning.com
sizes: 16
extremetech.com
sizes: 16
fania.oit.duke.edu
sizes: 16
fark.com
sizes: 16
filemagazine.com
sizes: 16, 32
flankenlauf.com
A nice company logo that becomes a nice favicon. I like the fact that the corners are rounded within the icon
and logo, with good use of transparent background. The higher color versions also have a nice shadow effect
on the icon as well.
sizes: 16, 32, 48
flickr.com
sizes: 16
foreignpolicy.com
A decent miniturization of the site/magazine logo. The black at the bottom of the icon
make sure it looks like the logo. The letters, however, are a little messy in this reduced
size. The icon is 1 pixel wider than it should be, so there’s also a little additional
distorting of the letters.
sizes: 17x16
grochtdreis.de
sizes: 16
gnuhaus.com
sizes: 16
google.com
Google’s well known font just doesn’t come across well in their favicon. There are colored
borders that use Google’s primary color scheme, but at 1 pixel wide you just can’t see them.
Google does such a good job managing their brand; too bad they missed the mark here. Maybe
the IPO distracted them too much?
sizes: 16
magurno.com
First letter of the site owner’s name. I’m not sure why the letter uses the color red, but the
background is a nice gradient using the site’s main colors of yellow and orange.
sizes: 16
london-underground.blogspot
A nice homemade favicon for Going Underground's blog that fits the homemade feel of the site. The letter “U”
looks a little cut off as they ran out of room. Maybe eliminating the shadow would have allowed enough room for
both letters. The colors don’t really match anything on the site.
format: ICO
hchamp.com
Sometimes a single letter is enough, especially when it’s your first initial and
is highlighted in your domain name. Muted grey tones with a nice 3D effect; makes it look
like a button.
sizes: 16
helenedegroote.free.fr
sizes: 16
hill-kleerup.org
format: ICO
hivelogic.com
Smaller version of the site logo after the redesign. Looks kind of like a wax seal. Nice deep
red color stands out well when bookmarked, etc. Would look better with a transparent background.
sizes: 16
houseindustries.com
sizes: 32
howieday.com
Nice icon that uses the person’s initials. Doesn’t really fit the black &
grey color scheme used on the site, but it’s close. Icon file was saved as a
.ico file, but it’s physically a .gif. Strange that it works.
sizes: 16
humpherys.org
sizes: 16
skiheavenly.com
sizes: 16
iliveonyourvisits.com
This bare–bones favicon matches the bare–bones feel of the site with grey–on–grey colors. The
site throws in a splash of bright pink for contrast; might have been nice to see that show up in the favicon as well.
format: GIF saved as ICO
irelan.net
A single letter “i” with a color background that matches the color used in the site masthead. Nice
and simple, but I like the way it ties in so well with the site colors.
sizes: 16
boxofjack.com
A good, straightforward favicon. The color is great, nice rounded corners and the lowercase letter works really well.
Looks like the site has redeisgned since I grabbed the icon.
sizes: 16, 32
jmby.nuabi.com
Uses the initial letter “J” from the logo utilizing the same font and a
dropshadow. Colors match the overall site design. Nice rounded corners as well.
sizes: 16
jogin.com
Nice graphic of the first letter of the site name, using the same font as the site header. I like the rounded
corners and the border is a nice touch. Looking at the site, though, I wish he had brought some of
the oranges/reds used in the site design into the icon. But maybe that would be too much…
sizes: 16, 32
jonnyblair.co.uk
sizes: 16
skinnyj.com
Living up to the site name, this is definitley a skinny, little letter “J”. A great color and nice
border effect with some rounded corners. One of the better uses of a transparent background that I’ve seen. The
area between the outside grey border and the red square is transparent. Very cool! The red color is nice as well.
Unfortunately, looks like the site has gone through a redesign recently and has lost its favicon. Too bad.
format: GIF
k10k.net
This icon reflects the pixel art nature of the entire site. Matches the lettering used in the site name/logo
in the masthead as well as everything that is drawn with pixels here.
sizes: 16
kalsey.com
sizes: 16
kottke.org
The background color is enough to make you think of kottke’s site. Throw in a nice dark “k”
and you’re done! Great icon.
sizes: 16
fuerboeck.at
This is a good example of using a cultural symbol for a site. According to the site owner, this letter “L”
is the symbol used for all Austrian driving schools. It’s incorporated into a few places in the site, but is
really indedpendent of the design for a reason. Good use of a meaningful symbol to communicate purpose.
format: ICO
leatheregg.com
sizes: 16, 32
lostintranslation.com
The site has nice orange accents throughout the design as well as orange circles with a white letter as the
main graphic for each section of the site. So, this orange icon is tightly connected with the site design.
I think the letter in the icon, unlike those on the site, is a little thin and the font makes it tough to read.
sizes: 16
cameronmoll.com
Great icon that takes the key element of the site logo, the overlapping “n” and
“m”. Sometimes the best icons are the simplest. Contrasting black and grey
are also a nice touch.
sizes: 16, 48
mandarindesign.com
I understand from a person responsible for the site that this icon has been around since 1999, when IE5
was brand new and the first browser to support favicons. At the time, there weren’t tools to generate an icon
from the site’s logo. I like the strength of the logo and the orange graphic element on the site header and
I really like the idea of using the swoop with the first letter as the icon. I just wish that the letter was
thicker and/or used the font from the logo; it loses some of its strength in the translation. It’s still
a cool, eye–catching icon.
sizes: 16
massiveblue.com
sizes: 16
megnut.com
sizes: 16
mercerhr.com
sizes: 16
mikeindustries.com
Keepin’ it simple; single letter and a clean font (same as the name in the header?). The site has
such a strong background color, kind of wish that had been used in the icon.
sizes: 16
minifonts.com
sizes: 16, 32, 48
mirashade.net
Curious that they chose the first letter from the company name rather than the logo
for their favicon. But, it looks good and ties to the company name well. Reminds me
of Cameron Moll’s favicon.
sizes: 16
mojito.se
sizes: 16, 32, 48
molly.com
Same two–tone graphic used in the site logo, but just the first letter for the icon. Works out great.
Looks like the colors changed slightly when reduced to 16 color format; maybe should have used a 256 color icon.
sizes: 32
moodle.org
The first letter of the site’s logo, complete with mortar board on top of the “m”. The letter has
clean edges and looks good. I’m amazed that the mortar board is recognizable after being srunk this much, but it
is. The transparent background is a nice touch as well.
format: ICO
once-upon-a-forest.com
sizes: 16
blogsnow.com
sizes: 16
nintendo.com
sizes: 32
novell.com
Novell’s single letter logo, the big N. Good use of a transparent background behind the simple shape. A 32px
image is defined in the ICO file, but it’s blank.
format: ICO
sercotransarctic.com
sizes: 16
osnews.com
sizes: 16
overcaffeinated.net
A reduced version of the logo from the site using the nice brown colors from the site. The favicon is a pixelized
version of the logo, which makes it a little rougher than the original.
format: ICO
planeta.se
sizes: 16
poynterextra.org
sizes: 16
quikonnex.com
sizes: 32
funkaoshi.com
sizes: 16
rapha.cc
Same background color as the sight and same fancy font as the company name, using
just the first letter for the favicon. Too bad the splash of pink from the site
didn’t make it into the icon somehow.
sizes: 16
rasterweb.net
The site uses an interesting italics-like, pixel font for the name in the masthead, and the first letter is used
for the favicon. On it’s own, I wouldn’t know that it’s the letter “R” because of the
slanted effect, but that doesn”t really matter. It translates well as a favicon because of the pixel–based
design.
format: ICO
ridingtheclutch.com
sizes: 16
roundersquartet.com
I may not be a big fan of barbershop quartet music, but they have a good favicon. The icon is nice and I like the
alignment of the “R” within the circle. I think it would be even better if they either used the
grey background that the site uses and/or one of the other colors they use for their logo (maybe the blue?). As it
is, the yellow color tends to get washed out against the white background a bit.
sizes: 16
rosswhite.com
Reasonable letter “R” with a fancy border around it. Looks good but I”d like it
better if it used the blue color from the site design rather than its green–ish color.
sizes: 16
saila.com
I can see where the icon comes from, but I think there’s just too much going on in such a small space.
Worn look, ragged edge and some background color thrown in. Definitely ties to the header graphic on the site,
but might be better if it were simplified a bit.
sizes: 16
satsig.net
I only know from reading something on the site that the blue dots are supposed to represent satellites orbiting
the letter “S”. Uh-huh. :) Even without knowing what it is, it’s a nice icon. And when you see
the animated site logo/name, you can see it’s a transformed version of the logo. Not bad!
sizes: 32
screenz.de
format: ICO
sequenz.ch
sizes: 16
shinybinary.com
Great site design showcasing amazing artwork. The favicon is a simple extension of
the site design, with the dark background and green-ish letter. Crisp and clear, nicely done.
sizes: 16
skinnybuzzard.com
I like the colors used in this icon, they work very well together. The site itself is nothing
but black and white to show off its photography (which is amazing). So even though the icon
doesn’t get its colors from the site, it tends to stand out from the site just like
the photos.
sizes: 16
skyzyx.com
The first letter of the site name with an interesting font. The font comes from the site’s “classic”
theme, so you may not see it when you first visit. The letter is a little blurry, but not bad. I wonder if using
inverse colors would have allowed more room and clarity for the letter. Regardless, it’s a nice, distinctive
letter to use as a favicon.
format: ICO
slayeroffice.com
Just the letter “s” using the font from the site logo and picks up the site’s dominant color. Very
nice.
sizes: 16
snowsuit.net
sizes: 32
socksfox.com
sizes: 16
sonesta.com
This company’s logo is just too complicated to shrink down to 16px. It is still legible, but looks awfully
fuzzy. The icon is also 16x17px, so I’m sure there’s a level of skewing going on because of the odd
size. Allowing for its full size (below), helps it a little bit.
sizes: 16x17
sporkle.com
format: ICO
stefanbucher.net
format: ICO
style-sheets.com
sizes: 16
stylegala.com
This nice script “S” is used for the site name in the masthead and repeated in the page background.
The letter ends up a little fuzzy when reduced to this size, but it’s still very recognizable. Creates
nice repetition with the rest of the site.
sizes: 16
swallowhill.com
sizes: 16
nytimes.com
sizes: 16
t-2.at.com
sizes: 16, 32, 48
telegraph.co.uk
sizes: 32
themaninblue.com
Builds on the vibrant blues used in the sight design, a simple “T” does the trick.
First favicon that I've seen that changes images with the larger icon size. Pretty cool.
sizes: 16, 32
theubergeeks.net
A good letter favicon that used the site color scheme, I think, but they have recently redesigned.
The size is 1px off, so the browser does a bit of stretching to make it fit. The original size
is below.
sizes: 15
typofonderie.com
I really like this icon; the bright white against the dark color look great. The letters are the initials for the
company, Porchez Typofonderie, or at least I assume they are the initials since I don’t know french. The
larger icon sizes are much better and cleaner than the 16px but it survives the shrinking well. The varying letter
sizes and direction are eye catching.
sizes: 16, 32, 48
typographi.com
Perfect icon for a site about typography. I like how the larger letter goes right up to the right edge and,
because it’s white, appears to flow into its surroundings. The dark background and dark color used for
the smaller letter really make the larger letter stand out. Very nice.
sizes: 16
textism.com
Another typography site. The icon reflects the color scheme from the site and picks up the common abbreviation
for ”text.“ Unfortunately, the letters are just a little bit blurry after being reduced to this size.
I wish they were a bit crisper.
sizes: 16
typequarry.com
sizes: 32
typophile.com
sizes: 16, 32
vivified.net
sizes: 16
washingtonpost.com
I’m not really sure where this “w” comes from; it’s not really used on the site anywhere
as a logo. Regardless, I think this is a little too blurry and nodescript. A simple grey circle would have worked
better than the 3D sphere effect they tried to create.
sizes: 16
webdesignforums.net
sizes: 16
westciv.com
sizes: 16
wikipedia.org
Just a simple letter, but by using the site’s unique font from their logo, it’s
immediately recognizable. Simple and effective.
sizes: 16
wired.com
The immediately recognizable logo for Wired. Plain & simple.
sizes: 16
wpdfd.com
sizes: 16, 32, 48
wrensoft.com
format: ICO
execit.dk
format: ICO
xl-solutions.co.uk
sizes: 16
tmxcommunications.com
format: ICO
yourtotalsite.com
sizes: 16
zooibaai.nl
This icon takes 2 key letters from the site logo, including the background color. Despite the 3D effects and
similar color to the background, the letters are still legible at the 16px size. The “B” gets a little
lost, but not too badly. It’s much better as 32px, though. But take a look a the current version…
format: ICO
zooibaai.nl
To go with the recently redesigned site, a new favicon. This one is really nice. Utilizes the currently trendy
“wicked worn” look and the Clarendon font…which I only know because it’s posted on the
site. Seriously, this is a great icon. The colors are great, picking up the theme from the site. I also really like
the way the letter is aligned/cropped in the icon. Adds a lot of visual interest, very cool.
format: ICO© 2005 Michael P. Pierce. The creators of each favicon retain all rights and copyrights for their work.