aN icon library for Port of Long Beach
Creating a port-themed visual design language
Client: Port of Long Beach - one of the largest seaports in the United States
Role: Lead Visual Designer
The Challenge
The Port of Long Beach needed a custom icon set to represent key themes like Environment, Pier Wind, Trades, and Community. These icons would be used across media materials, digital presentations, and public-facing signage. The challenge was creating instantly recognizable, meaningful visuals - especially for abstract concepts like greenhouse gases - while adhering to strict design constraints and vessel shape accuracy.
What I Did
I designed a full iconography system on 256x256 px artboards, carefully balancing simplicity, clarity, and accuracy. Each vehicle and vessel icon was crafted with attention to detail so port workers could easily identify them, while abstract icons were designed to communicate environmental and community impact intuitively.
Key Outcomes
The icons were put to use immediately - featured in high-level presentations on the same day they were delivered. The client’s satisfaction led directly to a new engagement: designing a more advanced isometric infographic system now in development.
Reflection
This was my first major project with POLB, and seeing my work in action so quickly was deeply gratifying. Being asked to lead the next phase of design was a powerful vote of confidence in the clarity and craft of the work we delivered.