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How do I tell users I'm referring them to a blog? This is within a mobile app.

I realize it could be a Wordpress/Tumblr icon, but that's subject to the company's logo change and I was just wondering if there's a universal icon standard for depicting "blog".

Thoughts?

3 Answers 3

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The simple answer is No there's not an accepted standard icon. Keep in mind that this is usually the case with icons and that shouldn't stop you from trying to find a suitable icon.

Probably the closest thing to a "standard blog icon" isn't an icon for a blog at all, but the RSS icon:
enter image description here

A great deal of users associate this with "blog" as most blogs have this logo plastered somewhere on the site. It's synonymous with blog because it's always seen with blogs even though it doesn't actually mean "blog".

A neat idea is pushed by The Blog Icon.

enter image description here

They're attempting to create a universal standard blog icon and it's completely free to use/edit/ect in any way you choose. Note they've basically taken the RSS icon and snuck a b in there to help suggest the idea of "blog". The similarity to the RSS icon means the meaning is less likely to be lost on your users. They have many color palettes so you can pick one that matches your site colors, but the standard RSS orange is most likely to be understood.

Don't forget you can put a little "What's this?" tooltip explaining what the icon is on hover, too.

I wouldn't recommend using the Tumblr/Wordpress/Blogger logos as a "blog icon" as that may create the impression that an item marked with that icon is explicitly from that service. They're not universal.

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  • Link to The Blog Icon is broken.
    – L84
    Nov 22, 2015 at 2:44
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As far as I’m aware there is no universal icon for a blog. I would probably try the blog icon mentioned and get some users to test it to see if they can work out if it’s a blog link.

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    The Blog Icon is certainly a neat idea, it would be neat to see it catch on.
    – Ben Brocka
    Nov 16, 2011 at 18:03
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    Looks like a cross between the social network 'bebo's logo and an rss feed icon.
    – Anonymous
    Nov 17, 2011 at 16:05
  • This looks like a neat idea, especially when paired with the word blog.
    – Illotus
    Nov 18, 2011 at 14:05
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I don't know of any accepted, familiar and universal 'blog' icon. But more to the point, why do you need one? You might find it better to choose an icon that somehow conveys whatever it is that makes a blog significant for your users. This will give your icon far more meaning and useful impact.

If, for example, you want to signify that the content you're linking to is not a neutral account, but an individual's opinion, you might choose an 'opinion' icon, to show this is just a person's (potentially controversial) comment - a speech bubble icon, perhaps.

It's best to choose icons that don't just represent the thing they stand for, but represent the significance of that thing in the user's perspective.

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