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How to Download an SVG from Noun Project

Step-by-step guide to downloading an SVG icon from Noun Project, confirming it is real vector artwork, and checking the license before using it in a logo or favicon.

Published

Contents
  1. The short answer
  2. Step-by-step: downloading the SVG
  3. Verify that the file is genuinely vector
  4. Check the license before using an icon in a logo
  5. Preparing the SVG for a favicon
  6. What this guide could not confirm

The short answer

To get an SVG from Noun Project, open the icon's detail page, choose the download option, and select SVG as the format instead of PNG. Before you download, the site asks you to pick a licensing route. Historically there has been a free route that requires crediting the icon's creator and a paid route that removes the attribution requirement. The current terms, plan names and prices were not confirmed for this guide, so read the license shown at the point of download rather than relying on any summary, including this one.

SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics) is a file format that describes an image as geometry: paths, shapes and fills defined by coordinates and curves, rather than a fixed grid of pixels. Because the shapes are recalculated at whatever size you display them, a true vector SVG stays sharp from a 16-pixel favicon to a large print. That is why SVG is the right format to request when the icon will become part of a logo or a favicon.

Step-by-step: downloading the SVG

  • 1. Search for the concept you need and open the individual icon page, not just the search result thumbnail.
  • 2. Read the creator credit and license information on that page before downloading.
  • 3. Choose the download option and select SVG as the file format. PNG is a raster (pixel-based) format and is not suitable for scalable logo work.
  • 4. If the site offers color or size settings before download, note that size settings matter for PNG; an SVG scales without a fixed pixel size.
  • 5. Pick the licensing route that fits your use: the attribution route if you can credit the creator wherever the icon appears, or a paid route if you cannot.
  • 6. Save the file with a descriptive name and keep a record of the icon's title, creator and license terms alongside it.
  • 7. Verify the downloaded file using the checks below before building it into any artwork.

Exact button labels and the order of these screens can change. If the interface differs from this description, the essential choices remain the same: format (SVG), license route, and attribution obligations.

Verify that the file is genuinely vector

A .svg extension does not guarantee that the content is fully vector. An SVG file can contain an embedded raster image, which would blur or pixelate when scaled. Check the file in two ways.

  • Open it in a vector editor and switch to outline or wireframe view. Vector artwork shows clean path outlines; an embedded bitmap appears as a single rectangular box.
  • Open it in a plain text editor. Look for path, circle, rect or polygon elements. An image element, especially one containing a long block of encoded data, indicates embedded raster content.
  • Confirm the file has a viewBox attribute. The viewBox defines the coordinate space the artwork is drawn in, and it is what allows the graphic to scale cleanly when the width and height change.
  • Zoom far in on curves and corners. Vector edges stay crisp at any zoom level.

An illustrative example of what vector content looks like in the markup, simplified and with the namespace attribute omitted:

<svg viewBox="0 0 100 100">
  <path d="M10 10 L90 10 L50 90 Z" />
</svg>

Some downloaded icons may include a credit line rendered as text or outlined shapes inside the artwork. If it is present, remove it from the working copy only where your license allows, and still meet any attribution requirement elsewhere, for example on a credits page.

Having the SVG file is not the same as having permission to use it as a logo. Icon libraries are typically licensed for use in designs, but using a stock icon as the core of a brand mark raises separate questions: the same icon is available to anyone, so it may not be distinctive, and a library's terms may restrict or prohibit registering its icons as part of a trademark. No confirmed details of Noun Project's current terms on logo or trademark use were available for this guide. Read the current license and terms of use directly, and if the mark will be registered or commercially central to a brand, get a qualified opinion or commission original artwork.

Preparing the SVG for a favicon

A favicon is the small icon browsers show in tabs, bookmarks and history lists. Modern browsers can use an SVG favicon directly, which keeps it sharp on high-density screens, but it is common practice to also supply raster fallbacks because support varies across browsers and platforms. Before converting a downloaded icon into a favicon:

  • Preview it at 16 and 32 pixels. Fine details, thin strokes and small gaps that read well at large sizes often disappear or merge when tiny; simplify the geometry if needed.
  • Convert strokes to filled outlines so line weights render predictably across tools and browsers.
  • Set a square viewBox and centre the artwork with consistent padding, since favicon slots are square.
  • Remove unused elements, hidden layers, editor metadata and any embedded raster content to keep the file small and clean.
  • Check contrast against both light and dark browser themes; a single dark icon can vanish on a dark tab bar.

What this guide could not confirm

No verified evidence was available on Noun Project's current subscription names, prices, download limits, exact interface labels or the precise wording of its license and trademark terms. Treat those details as things to confirm on the site itself at the time you download, and keep a copy of the license terms that applied when you obtained the file.