AI icon design: How to generate icons with GraphicsGen

Ever scrolled through a website or app that nails the vibe, but falls flat because the icons look outdated or inconsistent? In design, icons carry a lot of weight — they guide users, add personality, and polish the overall look. The good news? You don’t need to spend hours drawing tiny details from scratch or buy expensive software.

With an AI icon generator, you can turn a simple text prompt into a set of crisp, scalable icons that fit your project perfectly. Whether you’re building an app, crafting a presentation, or leveling up your brand identity, AI-powered tools like Envato’s GraphicsGen make the process effortless.

In this guide, we’ll explore how to use Envato’s AI icon generator to create unique, professional-quality icons in seconds. From understanding key design principles to writing prompts that get you the best results, you’ll walk away knowing exactly how to create your own AI-generated icons — including export-ready PNG files for your next project.

Envato’s GenAI suite makes professional design accessible to everyone—no steep learning curve required. For icon design specifically, GraphicsGen is the standout tool. It’s a generative AI solution that transforms text descriptions into clean, vector-style images.

Here’s what’s available for AI icon creation:

With these tools, you can start with a text prompt like “minimalist camera icon, line art, black on white” and export a transparent PNG icon that’s ready to drop into your UI design or pitch deck.

Icons might be small, but designing them well requires clear principles. Keep these fundamentals in mind to ensure your AI-generated icons look polished and professional.

When generating multiple AI icons, use similar prompts so they match in line thickness, shape style, and level of detail. Consistency is what makes a set usable in real projects.

Icons need to look sharp whether they’re tiny app symbols or blown up on a presentation slide. Generating transparent PNG icons ensures you can scale up or down without distortion.

A good AI icon communicates its meaning instantly. Avoid clutter or excessive detail. Consider how the icon will read at 16px versus 256px.

Decide if your generative AI icon should be monochrome for flexibility, or bold and colorful for personality. GraphicsGen lets you control palettes in your prompt.

Most projects need high-quality AI icon PNGs, ideally exported with a transparent background. GraphicsGen produces square, high-resolution files that can be resized or recolored using Envato’s ImageEdit.

Follow these principles, and your AI-created icons won’t just look good — they’ll work effectively in real-world applications.

Ready to start creating? Here’s how to access the AI icon maker. Log in to your Envato account, open the Gen AI sub-menu and select GraphicsGen.

Click the Icon button to only view the AI icon styles. Hover your cursor over one of these styles and you’ll be able to see its name and the View Style Gallery button.

Using the View Style Gallery button, you can view six design versions that use the same style. These might help you better understand whether this is the right style for your AI-generated icons.

Simply click a style that you like and it will automatically appear on the prompt field. For this first example we’ll go with the Pop Candy Alt style.

Let’s have a closer look at the prompt field to better understand the powers of this generative AI tool. Using the plus button you can also upload an image to be used a reference style for your AI icon.

The Image Ratio buttons set the size of the AI icon that you’re about to generate.

Slide the Transparent button if you wish to generate an AI icon with a transparent background. This is the perfect solution for transparent PNG AI icon.

Finally, the prompt. These are the written instructions you give the AI icon maker to tell it what to create. The more vivid and detailed your prompt, the more impactful the ai icon will be. For this example we’ll use:

Once you’re done click the Generate button or use the Control-Enter keyboard shortcut to create your icons with AI.

You’ll get four different variations to choose from. You can download them all or as many as you need. Here are the results:

Yes. Icons created with Envato’s AI icon maker can be used in personal, client, and commercial projects as part of a finished product. That means you can use an AI icon PNG transparent file in your app, website, or presentation, but you can’t resell raw AI outputs as stock.

You must generate and finalize your AI-generated icons while your subscription is active. Once your icons are licensed as part of an end product, you can keep using them even if you later unsubscribe.

Most designers use AI icon PNGs because they’re lightweight and easy to drop into apps or presentations. Adding “transparent background” to your prompt ensures you get AI icon PNG transparent files ready for instant use. You can also upscale and tweak icons in ImageEdit for high-res needs.

Yes! Start with an image and use Envato’s AI tools like ImageEdit and Nano Banana to restyle or simplify your visuals into crisp icons. This is handy if you want custom symbols that stay consistent with your brand identity.

Avoid prompts that replicate copyrighted logos, brand mascots, or trademarked artwork. For best results, keep your prompts original — focus on style, shape, and theme instead of specific brands. This ensures your generative AI icons are safe to use commercially.

Once you’ve created your set of AI-generated icons, the fun doesn’t stop there. Experiment with variations — different styles, colorways, or even transparent PNG exports you can layer over photos and backgrounds.

Pair your icons with Envato Elements’ massive asset library:

And don’t forget: consistency is key. Use your AI icon generator to produce sets that align across different projects, from web to mobile to print. By combining Envato’s GraphicsGen with the rest of Elements’ resources, you’ll have everything you need to design icons that don’t just look good, but feel like they belong.