Modern.gov are a software development company, producing packages for government bodies.
They asked us to produce a set of 32 icons which they would use as part of the user interface.

The first part of the job was to decide on what to use for each icon. We were given a list of the functions and had to come up with individual and recognisable ideas for each of them. They wanted them to be in keeping with Microsoft Vista, so once we had done that we then had to make sure that we had the correct colour palette lined up, along with the guidelines for creating Vista icons, for example, the angle they sit at, how the shadow looks etc.

The main challenge however was that the icons needed to be smaller than Vista icons (about two thirds!) so keeping the level of detail was to be the biggest problem, and designing them meant constant checking at the right size and resolution to ensure they were working. They needed to be quite detailed to have the high quality feel, but too detailed meant that they became unclear so it was truly a case of trial and error until each of them was spot on. 

The final task was to supply them in the correct format for use within the software, which in itself caused the need for a few more design tweeks, as it affected the quality of the images. After three months of hard work however, the icons were completed and the client (and their clients!) were very happy indeed!