diff --git a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/01_icon_request.yml b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/01_icon_request.yml index f0f9a4357..a7f2daa73 100644 --- a/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/01_icon_request.yml +++ b/.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/01_icon_request.yml @@ -7,8 +7,10 @@ body: value: | Before submitting an icon request check if it has already been requested. If there is an open request, please add a 👍. - **Important note**: No new brand logos are allowed, see https://github.com/lucide-icons/lucide/issues/670. - Existing brand icons will also be phased out. For brand icons, consider using https://simpleicons.org, which offers purpose-built SVGs that are also on a 24×24px grid. + > [!CAUTION] + > New brand logos are **not** allowed, see our official statement: https://github.com/lucide-icons/lucide/blob/main/BRAND_LOGOS_STATEMENT.md. + > + > Existing brand icons are being phased out. Consider using https://simpleicons.org, which offers purpose-built SVGs that are also on a 24×24px grid. - type: input id: name attributes: @@ -41,7 +43,7 @@ body: required: true - label: I have searched existing icons to make sure it does not already exist and I didn't find any. required: true - - label: I am not requesting a brand logo and the art is not protected by copyright. + - label: I am not requesting a brand logo and the art is not protected by copyright, see more at https://github.com/lucide-icons/lucide/blob/main/BRAND_LOGOS_STATEMENT.md required: true - label: I am not requesting an icon that includes religious, war/violence related, political imagery or hate symbols. required: true diff --git a/.github/pull_request_template.md b/.github/pull_request_template.md index 921e8b404..7efa7e6d6 100644 --- a/.github/pull_request_template.md +++ b/.github/pull_request_template.md @@ -25,8 +25,10 @@ Common scopes: icons, docs, studio, site, dev ### Concept + + - [ ] I have provided valid use cases for each icon. -- [ ] I have not added any a brand or logo icon. +- [ ] I have [not added any brand or logo icon](https://github.com/lucide-icons/lucide/blob/main/BRAND_LOGOS_STATEMENT.md). - [ ] I have not used any hate symbols. - [ ] I have not included any religious, war/violence related or political imagery. diff --git a/BRAND_LOGOS_STATEMENT.md b/BRAND_LOGOS_STATEMENT.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..9ca7c149b --- /dev/null +++ b/BRAND_LOGOS_STATEMENT.md @@ -0,0 +1,71 @@ +# Our Official Stance on Including Brand Logos in Lucide + +## TL;DR + +Lucide **does not accept** brand logos, and we do not plan to add them in the future. + +This is due to a combination of **legal restrictions**, **design consistency concerns**, and **practical maintenance reasons**. + +If you need brand logos, we recommend [Simple Icons](https://simpleicons.org/), which provides an extensive, legally safer collection of brand marks. + +--- + +## 1. Historical Context + +This is not a new debate — other icon sets have gone through the same discussion: + +- **Material Design Icons** [deprecated all brand icons](https://github.com/Templarian/MaterialDesign/issues/6602) because they didn't fit the style, didn't work well in one color, and often looked out of place in a 24×24px grid. +- **Feather Icons** [came to the same conclusion](https://github.com/feathericons/feather/issues/763): brand logos have their own style, and forcing them into another inevitably leads to aesthetic compromises. +- **Lucide** learned from these examples — we'd rather focus on making a consistent set of non-brand icons that all work together. + +## 2. Legal Considerations + +Most brand logos: +- Are **protected by trademark or copyright**. +- Have **strict rules** for how they can be used (colors, spacing, proportions, etc.). +- **Don't allow modification** — but we'd have to change them to fit Lucide's style. + +This means adding them could: +1. Break copyright or trademark law. +2. Make both you and the Lucide project legally responsible. +3. Force us to review every new request one by one for legal issues — something we simply can't do. + +> **Note:** Simple Icons avoids this by keeping logos exactly as the brand provides them — though even they sometimes face [legal challenges](https://github.com/simple-icons/simple-icons/issues/11236). + +## 3. Design & Consistency + +Lucide is all about **visual consistency**. + +Adding brand logos would: +- Break [our own design rules](https://lucide.dev/guide/design/icon-design-guide#icon-design-principles) for shapes, proportions, and stroke. +- Mix two fundamentally different categories of graphics (pictograms vs. corporate logos). +- Create a library where a subset of icons will always look "out of place". + +If the logos are not in Lucide's style, why include them in Lucide at all? Better to use them from a dedicated brand icon source. + +## 4. Maintenance Burden + +Even with our current **"no brand icon requests"** policy, people still request them regularly. + +Having any brand icons in the set: +- Makes people think we might add more in the future. +- Leads to repeated requests and the same conversations over and over. +- Wastes maintainer time redirecting people to the same explanation. + +Removing them entirely solves this problem. + +## 5. Recommended Alternatives + +If you need brand icons, try: +- [Simple Icons](https://simpleicons.org/): offers a huge range of brands, in consistent SVG format, using a 24×24 viewBox, the same as ours. +- Official brand asset pages: most major companies provide downloadable SVGs. + +You can use these alongside Lucide without bloating our core library. + +## Final Words + +Lucide is an **icon** set, not a **logo** set. + +Logos belong in dedicated logo resources. + +We're focusing on what Lucide does best: providing a clean, cohesive, and legally safe collection of open-source icons. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 569f512fa..499e6bb7d 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -57,6 +57,12 @@ For more info on how to contribute please see the [contribution guidelines](http Caught a mistake or want to contribute to the documentation? [Edit this page on Github](https://github.com/lucide-icons/lucide/blob/main/README.md) +## About brand logos + +Lucide **does not accept** brand logos, and we do not plan to add them in the future. This is due to a combination of **legal restrictions**, **design consistency concerns**, and **practical maintenance reasons**. + +[Click here to read our official statement about brand logos in Lucide.](./BRAND_LOGOS_STATEMENT.md) + ## Community Join the community on our [Discord](https://discord.gg/EH6nSts) server!