I’ve always believed an icon isn’t good if you can’t realize its meaning right away. (After all, rapid recognition is the whole purpose of an icon.) But I’ve shifted my philosophy lately by designing icons that are digital portraits of what they represent.

For example, I created the owl icons on my site by purchasing an Illustrator file of the owl and placing her in different scenes. To me, they are just as effective as traditional icons but are much more interesting to look at. What do you think?