Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. This old-school quote might be true for worldly experiences.
But when it comes to the internet, almost everything is objective. The same is true of favicons.
There can be a debate on which one is more aesthetic. But everyone agrees that there are clear winners.
We've tried to list the 13 most beautiful favicons on the planet.
Sure, there might be some lists not mentioned on the list, and we're open to adding those to the list (only if anyone can spot them).
What Makes a Favicon beautiful?
Before jumping to the list, we must define what makes a favicon beautiful.
And not ‘just’ beautiful, but good enough to stand out and mark its presence. You can also call this section our selection criteria for the list.
The golden principle is "simple, interesting, but not overworked.”
A simple favicon with a hidden meaning always overcomes its counterparts in beauty. It also makes the website memorable.
Plus, the website's popularity subconsciously increases the chances of a more aesthetic favicon.
However, we haven’t let popularity interfere with our choice of selecting the best favicons.
What Makes us Worthy of Making a List?
One may ask, “What makes you worthy of making a list of the most beautiful favicons.”
Well, as a bookmark manager, Superdense relies on favicons for bookmarking. In fact, we call ourselves bookmark wizards.
Eyes trained to see hundreds of thousands of bookmarks would be able to identify the good ones.
And this makes us good enough to create a list. One might disagree, and we're open to discussion.
The Top 14 Most Beautiful Favicons
Before jumping into the favicons, don’t consider the list in a specific order.
Therefore we recommend focusing on the contributors of the list. The order may vary with personal preference.
Airbnb
The Airbnb favicon is a stylized, upside-down heart symbol in the colors of Airbnb's logo. But apparently, it looks like an "A."
The pinkish-red hues of the favicon stand out across all background colors.
Plus, the small favicon highlights sharing with love and compassion, consistent with Airbnb's brand image.
Users remember the favicon easily. All these things make it among the most beautiful favicons.
Apple
The Apple favicon uses the iconic logo that is associated with the brand.
The rounded corners of the logo make it visually appealing. Plus, a monochromatic color scheme gives it a clean and modern look.
Additionally, this light-grey favicon stand-out both in dark and light browser themes.
McDonald's
The McDonald's favicon is a classic design with iconic golden arches.
The bright red background catches the eye, and the arches in yellow are easy to identify.
But recently, they shifted their favicon to just being yellow. This contributed to simplicity and added some extra elegance.
PayPal
The PayPal favicon is a clean and modern design incorporating shades of blue.
Using two letters, "P's," reinforces the brand's image. And slightly varying shades of blue make the favicon catchy.
Spotify
The Spotify favicon is simple and visually appealing, using the brand's green and black color scheme.
The sound waves add a touch of visual interest. And the clean lines make it simple yet graceful.
Not many people would use the Spotify website directly rather than their app.
But the simplicity of the favicon makes it suitable for our list.
Stack Overflow
The Stack Overflow favicon uses the brand's orange-and-white color scheme, which makes it visually appealing.
Plus, the stacks are “practically flowing in the favicon.” And that’s the reason we consider it a beautiful favicon.
Stack overflow favicon also has those bold lines contributing to a modern look.
Twitch
The Twitch favicon has a light-bluish white "glitch" symbol that appears to be in motion.
It's futuristic and very eye-catching. Also, this glitch symbol conveys a sense of motion and digital disruption that aligns with the fast-paced, constantly changing gaming world.
The favicon also showcases simplicity and consistent branding, making it one of the most beautiful.
Wikipedia
The Wikipedia favicon is a simple yet effective design incorporating a black-and-white color palette.
The "W" favicon is easily recognizable, catches the eye, and doesn’t overdo anything.
Amazon
The Amazon favicon uses the brand's iconic smile logo in orange and white colors.
The logo is easily recognizable, and so is the favicon.
Amazon favicon uses a bold font that makes it stand out. The favicon itself isn't too modern.
Instead, it's more memorable than being modern, complementing the Amazon brand identity.
Opera.com
The Opera.com favicon uses the brand's iconic "O" logo, making it easily recognizable.
The bold red color used in the logo sparks out. And the white background makes it visually appealing.
The favicon remained practically the same from the times when Blackberry and Nokia used to rule the world.
The timeless nature of this favicon makes it a beautiful one.
The Reddit favicon uses the brand's iconic alien logo in orange and white colors.
The color scheme adds a touch of excitement to the design. And the color contrast makes it almost unforgettable.
These things contribute to making it one of the most beautiful favicons.
ESPN
The ESPN favicon uses the brand's red and white color scheme.
An extra bold font used in the logo makes it easy to identify. Plus, the simple design adds a touch of sophistication to the favicon.
YouTube
Ending our list with one of the most easily recognizable favicons of the world.
The YouTube favicon is the video play button of Youtube. It’s simple, eye-catching, and impossible to forget.
Some Ordinary Favicons
The reason for this section is not to mock any brand or website. But just to pinpoint the detail that makes the favicon look ordinary or ugly (some might say).
Walmart: Walmart's favicon looks like a widely spaced spokes of a wheel. It's not memorable, pixelated, and pretty basic.
Payoneer: Payoneer recently changed their favicon into the multi-color “O.” There is so much mixing of colors that the favicon is not easily recognizable.
Getty Images: A small white ‘g’ in the transparent background. Too basic and easy to forget.
IMDB: IMDB favicon is a mess of yellow color. The IMDB written in black isn't readable, making it an absurd favicon.
BBC: BBC has the same problem with the favicon. The dark colors in the shade of white aren’t visible.
