The Business Case for Better Icons: Why UI/UX Starts with Great Visual Design

✅ Understanding Icon Design Benefits

Improving your software’s user interface isn’t just about polishing appearances, it’s about delivering measurable business value. While full UI/UX redesigns can yield incredible returns, many of the same benefits can be achieved by addressing one of the most overlooked components of your interface: your icons.

As specialists in custom icon design, we regularly collaborate with in-house UI/UX teams as well as directly with software owners to improve usability, elevate branding, and reduce user friction. Whether you’re planning a large-scale redesign or just need to upgrade outdated icon sets, here’s what the research says about why better UI—and by extension, better icons—can transform your product’s performance.

💡 Enhanced Perceived Value & Brand Trust

Icons are one of the first things users notice when interacting with software. They shape first impressions, guide navigation, and reinforce your brand identity. Studies show that users often associate modern, consistent visuals with professionalism and quality. In fact, a well-designed interface can significantly boost perceived product value, even when functionality remains unchanged.

By updating your icons to match your brand and user expectations, you send a powerful signal: that your software is well-maintained, thoughtfully designed, and worth investing in.

UI/UX Design & Icons for high end media DAC App – dCS Audio

📈 Increased Sales & User Conversions

Clunky or confusing interfaces hurt conversion. Even something as seemingly minor as unclear or inconsistent icons can derail onboarding flows and increase abandonment. Conversely, a simplified, intuitive UI—supported by a coherent icon system—helps users move more confidently through your product.

One study from Forrester reported that every $1 invested in UX returns up to $100 in benefits. While that includes a broad range of design improvements, iconography plays a role in that success, particularly in guiding users through complex tools where clarity is key.

🧠 Reduced Training & Support Costs

Icons aren’t just decorative—they’re functional. Done right, they can reduce cognitive load, making your software easier to learn without extensive documentation or training. This is particularly important for complex or technical platforms, where users need fast access to key features.

According to Princeton’s UX Lab, intuitive interfaces drastically reduce user error and the need for support tickets. Clean, recognisable icons are a key part of this experience. When users can instinctively understand what a button or feature does, everyone wins: you spend less on support, and users stay happier longer.

🚀 Faster Time to Value

Your users want results fast. A well-structured interface with consistent, logical icons helps them reach their goals quicker—whether that’s creating a report, adjusting a machine setting, or navigating a dashboard.

Our Icon Manager system was built to streamline this process. For larger UI/UX projects, we work hand-in-hand with your design and development teams to manage icon assets across platforms. For smaller projects, we offer fast, lightweight solutions for software teams who just need plug-and-play icon assets without the overhead.

🎯 Competitive Advantage & Differentiation

In saturated markets, small UI details often make the difference between adoption and abandonment. When software tools all offer similar features, a clean and pleasant user experience becomes your biggest differentiator. Your icon system is a visual shorthand for the quality of the entire product and makes the icon design benefits very obvious.

By investing in a bespoke icon set, you create a distinct look and feel that helps your product stand out—something generic stock icons can’t provide.

📊 Real-World Results: Icon Design Benefits in Action

While icons are just one part of the UI/UX puzzle, they punch above their weight. Consider how:

• GE redesigned internal tools and saved $30M in one year, largely from reducing friction in complex software UIs.
• Bank of America streamlined its online banking enrollment UX and saw major reductions in support costs and increased completions.

These results came from a focus on usability and clarity—principles that begin with how users interpret and interact with on-screen elements, including icons.

🔚 Icons That Work as Hard as You Do

Whether you’re leading a full UI overhaul or simply tired of icons that confuse more than they clarify, our team is here to help. We’ve spent over 25 years creating pixel-perfect icons for engineering, data, and enterprise software, and we’ve built our own management tools to make scaling up simple.

Talk to an Icon Design Expert

Want to improve your software’s UI with smarter, more effective icons?

Get in touch today and see how better design drives better business.