| 1 | # Icon Safety Check |
| 2 | |
| 3 | **Owner:** Calculon (Designer) |
| 4 | **Confidence:** low |
| 5 | **Created:** 2026-05-25 |
| 6 | |
| 7 | ## Purpose |
| 8 | |
| 9 | Verify icon designs don't accidentally resemble hate symbols or extremist imagery before shipping. Small sizes (16px favicon) are where ambiguity hides most. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | ## When to Apply |
| 12 | |
| 13 | - Before finalizing any new icon/logo design |
| 14 | - When evaluating icon concepts that use letterforms, runes, or geometric patterns |
| 15 | - As part of icon spec review |
| 16 | |
| 17 | ## Steps |
| 18 | |
| 19 | ### 1. Pre-Design Awareness |
| 20 | |
| 21 | Avoid these patterns without explicit safety review: |
| 22 | - Double-letter monograms (especially S, H, N) |
| 23 | - Single lightning bolts / rune-like strokes |
| 24 | - Certain cross variants (Iron Cross, Celtic Cross in certain contexts) |
| 25 | - Sun-wheel / spoke patterns |
| 26 | - Hand gesture shapes |
| 27 | |
| 28 | ### 2. Post-Design Verification |
| 29 | |
| 30 | **Multi-size render test:** |
| 31 | - 16px (favicon) — most critical, ambiguity peaks here |
| 32 | - 32px, 64px, 128px, 512px |
| 33 | |
| 34 | **Transformation tests:** |
| 35 | - Rotate 90°, 180°, 270° — no problematic shapes should emerge |
| 36 | - Mirror horizontally and vertically |
| 37 | - Invert colors (what does negative space reveal?) |
| 38 | |
| 39 | **Reference check:** |
| 40 | - ADL Hate on Display database: https://www.adl.org/hate-symbols |
| 41 | - Similar resources for regional/cultural symbols |
| 42 | |
| 43 | ### 3. Documentation |
| 44 | |
| 45 | Include in icon spec: |
| 46 | - "Silhouette Safety Check ✓" section |
| 47 | - List what was verified and against what references |
| 48 | - Note any considerations for future modifications |
| 49 | |
| 50 | ## Example |
| 51 | |
| 52 | See `docs/processed/icon-spec.md` — Section 2 "Silhouette Safety Check" documents the robot-with-binoculars verification. |
| 53 | |
| 54 | ## Promotion Criteria |
| 55 | |
| 56 | Confidence → medium after: |
| 57 | - 2+ icon designs successfully use this pattern |
| 58 | - 1+ actual ambiguity caught and fixed |
| 59 | |
| 60 | ## References |
| 61 | |
| 62 | - Branding-safety directive: `.squad/decisions/inbox/copilot-directive-icon-ss-association.md` |
| 63 | - Icon spec with example: `docs/processed/icon-spec.md` |