An avatar has to read at a thumbnail size and still hold personality. It is usually the smallest piece of design in a whole identity, and it is the one a person uploads everywhere. We design custom avatars as clean vector artwork, so the same file works as a social profile picture, an app icon, a game sprite or embroidery.
Styles
- Flat vector cartoon ΓÇö bold shapes, limited palette, reads clearly at 40px. The safest default for social.
- Illustrated portrait ΓÇö more detail and shading, suited to a larger profile frame or a print card.
- Geometric and minimal ΓÇö simple forms and a tight palette for professional and technical audiences.
- Kawaii and cute ΓÇö rounded, friendly, popular for community brands and consumer apps.
- Pixel and retro game art ΓÇö built on a real pixel grid rather than a scaled-down smooth image.
One master, every size
We draw the avatar once as vector artwork and export it properly for each destination: circular crops for social profiles, square app icons, small 32px and 48px versions, and a large master. Small sizes need their own treatment, not just a scaled copy, so we test the detail at the smallest size it will be seen and simplify where it turns to noise.
Variants and a set
Most clients need more than one: a default avatar, a monochrome version, a version on a dark background, and a matching set for a family, a team or a whole cast of characters. We can build a consistent set of characters on one grid, which is what you want if the avatars represent people in the same organisation rather than unrelated users.
What to send us
A photo, a reference, or just a description of the person or character. If you are starting from a photograph we will redraw it rather than filter it, so the result is a genuine illustration and not a smoothed photograph. Send your brand colours and any existing iconography and we will match the style.
Game and app avatars
For games and apps we can supply the avatar as a layered vector file, a sprite sheet, or a pre-sized icon set, and we can match an existing art style from screenshots. Minimum detail is checked against the display size so the character does not turn to mush on a small screen.
Print and embroidery
The same vector master can be delivered as a single-colour version with closed contours, so the avatar also works for a screen print, a vinyl cut, an embroidered patch or a laser-engraved tag.