Get 50% off during WWDC 2025!

Design+Code logo

Quick links

Suggested search

Union

Union will merge multiple shapes together. You’ll be surprised to see that most icons use this technique. For example, when you combine to have 3 lines, you get a Hamburger menu.

Close Icon

Create two rectangles that's 30x2 and rotate one to 45deg and the other to -45deg. Align them to center against each other, both horizontally and vertically. Select both lines and go to Boolean / Union. 2018-09-06 13-27-37

Subtract

Subtract will subtract a single shape or multiple shapes from the main shape (the one at the bottom). It's important to note that all subsequent shapes will always be subtracted from the main shape.

Card Icon

Create a 28x18 rectangle with a rounded corner of 2. Then, create a rectangle that's 26x2 and place it 4px from the top, 2px from left. Select both layers and go to Booleon / Subtract. 2018-09-06 13-23-20

Intersect

Intersect will show the space where 2 shapes meet. While this is not a popular technique compared to Union and Subtract, this is a good way to experiment with new shapes.

Eye Icon

Create 2 circles that are 40x40. Place one above the other with 30 distance from the bottom. Go to Boolean / Intersect. Then select the Boolean group and go to Boolean / Flatten. Create a circle that's 12x12 and select Subtract. 2018-09-06 13-18-53 (1)

Exclude

Exclude will show the space where 2 shapes don’t meet.

Text Icon

Create a circle that is 40x40. Duplicate and place it 20 from top and 10 from the right against the first one. Duplicate again and place 20 from left, from the second circle. Select Boolean / Intersect. Create a Text layer that's about 12pt and place it in the middle. Drag the text layer to be inside the Boolean group. 2018-09-06 13-22-26

Flatten Shape

Using booleans with multiple shapes can really make your icon complex and multi-layered. One of the ways to simplify is to flatten everything as a new shape and work from that.

Set Default Properties

The default light gray color may not be the best color to use for our icons. Every time we create new shapes, we have to change the Fill and that can be tiresome. Let's change the Fill to black. Then, go to the menu / Edit/ Set Default Properties. Now, the next time you create a shape, it'll be black.

Brackets

Create a square that's 40x40. Rotate by 45 degrees. Duplicate and push it by 10 to the right. Select both shapes and do Subtract. Then do Flatten. Press Enter to get into edit mode. Select vector points and set the corner radius to 2. Duplicate and rotate 180deg. 2018-09-06 13-34-18

Star

The star can have infinite counts, ratio, and radius, which can allow you to create pretty interesting shapes, like the Cog icon.

Cog

Create a Star polygon that's 50x50 with 12 count, radius 3 and angle 60%. Then create a circle 24x24 and use Subtract. 2018-09-06 14-54-35

Polygon

The Polygon can have a corner radius and count, so you can create any polygon counts you want, from the triangle to the hexagon and more.

Play

Create a Polygon 32x32 with 2 radius with a count of 3. Rotate -90 degrees. Then, create a circle that's 50x50. Use Subtract. 2018-09-06 14-58-01

Arrow

The Arrow is insanely useful for creating flows or for simply designing an arrow icon. You can customize the stroke width.

Create an Arrow line (Shift + L) 50x0. Set the Stroke width to 5. Select one of the vector points and set go to Advanced Stroke and set the Cap to Round. 2018-09-06 15-00-45

BACK TO

Components and Nesting

READ NEXT

Icons and Vector Network

Templates and source code

Download source files

Download the videos and assets to refer and learn offline without interuption.

check

Design template

check

Source code for all sections

check

Video files, ePub and subtitles

Videos

ePub

Subtitles

Assets

Meet the instructor

We all try to be consistent with our way of teaching step-by-step, providing source files and prioritizing design in our courses.

Meng To

I design, code and write

Meng To is the author of Design+Code. Meng started off his career as a self-taught designer from Montreal and eventually traveled around the world for 2 years as his US VISA was denied. During his travels, he wrote a book which now has 35,000 readers.

icon

40 courses - 185 hours

course logo

Master AI Prompting for Stunning UI

Learn how to leverage AI tools like Aura for creating beautiful designs, working with templates, and experimenting with advanced prompts. A concise guide for designers and developers to level up their skills.

1 hrs

course logo

Build SwiftUI apps for iOS 18 with Cursor and Xcode

In this course, we'll explore the exciting new features of SwiftUI 6 and Xcode 16 for building iOS 18 apps. From mesh gradients and text animations to ripple effects, you'll learn how to create polished, highly custom apps using the latest workflows. We'll also dive into using Cursor and Claude AI for AI-driven coding, helping you start strong and customize your apps.

5 hrs

course logo

Create your Dream Apps with Cursor and Claude AI

Learn to build your dream web apps from the ground up using Cursor, Claude AI, and a suite of powerful AI tools. This course covers everything you need, including React for frontend development, Firebase for backend integration, and Stripe for handling payments. You’ll also dive into advanced AI tools like Claude Artifacts, Galileo AI, v0.dev for UI, Ideogram for design generation, and Cursor Composer for full-scale development.

6 hrs

course logo

Build a React Site from Figma to Codux

In this course, you'll learn to build a website from scratch using Codux, starting with a Figma template. You’ll master responsive design, collaborate with developers on a real React project, export CSS from Figma using Locofy, set up breakpoints with media queries, add CSS animations, improve SEO, create multiple pages with React Router, and publish your site. By following best practices, you’ll bridge design and development, improve your web design skills.

2 hrs

course logo

Create 3D UI for iOS and visionOS in Spline

Comprehensive 3D Design Course: From Basics to Advanced Techniques for iOS and visionOS using SwiftUI

3 hrs

course logo

Master No-Code Web Design with Framer

In this free Framer course, you'll learn to create modern, user-friendly interfaces. Start with dark mode and glass designs, then move from Figma to Framer, using vectors and auto layout for responsive websites. Add animations, interactive buttons, and custom components with code. Finally, you'll craft a design system suitable for teamwork or solo projects, all in a straightforward and practical approach.

4 hrs

course logo

Build SwiftUI Apps for iOS 17

In this course, we’ll be exploring the fresh and exciting features of SwiftUI 5! As we craft a variety of iOS apps from the ground up, we'll delve deep into the treasure trove that is SwiftUI's user interface, interactions, and animations.

4 hrs

course logo

Build Beautiful Apps with GPT-4 and Midjourney

Design and develop apps using GPT-4 and Midjourney with prompts for SwiftUI, React, CSS, app concepts, icons, and copywriting

4 hrs

course logo

Build SwiftUI apps for iOS 16

Create animated and interactive apps using new iOS 16 techniques using SwiftUI 4 and Xcode 14

5 hrs

course logo

Build a 3D Site Without Code with Framer

Design and publish a responsive site with 3D animation without writing a single line of code

3 hrs

course logo

Create 3D Site with Spline and React

Design and code a landing page with an interactive 3D asset using Spline and CodeSandbox

1 hrs

course logo

Build an Animated App with Rive and SwiftUI

Design and code an iOS app with Rive animated assets, icon animations, custom layouts and interactions

3 hrs

course logo

Build a SwiftUI app for iOS 15 Part 3

Design and code a SwiftUI 3 app with custom layouts, animations and gestures using Xcode 13, SF Symbols 3, Canvas, Concurrency, Searchable and a whole lot more

4 hrs

course logo

Build a SwiftUI app for iOS 15 Part 2

Design and code a SwiftUI 3 app with custom layouts, animations and gestures using Xcode 13, SF Symbols 3, Canvas, Concurrency, Searchable and a whole lot more

3 hrs

course logo

Build a SwiftUI app for iOS 15

Design and code a SwiftUI 3 app with custom layouts, animations and gestures using Xcode 13, SF Symbols 3, Canvas, Concurrency, Searchable and a whole lot more

4 hrs

course logo

React Livestreams

Learn how we can use React Hooks to build web apps using libraries, tools, apis and frameworks

4 hrs

course logo

Design Founder Livestreams

A journey on how we built DesignCode covering product design, management, analytics, revenue and a good dose of learning from our successes and failures

2 hrs

course logo

SwiftUI Advanced Handbook

An extensive series of tutorials covering advanced topics related to SwiftUI, with a main focus on backend and logic to take your SwiftUI skills to the next level

4 hrs

course logo

iOS Design Handbook

A complete guide to designing for iOS 14 with videos, examples and design files

2 hrs

course logo

SwiftUI Handbook

A comprehensive series of tutorials covering Xcode, SwiftUI and all the layout and development techniques

7 hrs

course logo

Build a web app with React Hooks

Learn how we built the new Design+Code site with React Hooks using Gatsby, Netlify, and advanced CSS techniques with Styled Components.

4 hrs

course logo

UI Design Handbook

A comprehensive guide to the best tips and tricks for UI design. Free tutorials for learning user interface design.

2 hrs

course logo

Figma Handbook

A comprehensive guide to the best tips and tricks in Figma

6 hrs

course logo

SwiftUI for iOS 14

Build a multi-platform app from scratch using the new techniques in iOS 14. We'll use the Sidebar and Lazy Grids to make the layout adaptive for iOS, iPadOS, macOS Big Sur and we'll learn the new Matched Geometry Effect to create beautiful transitions between screens without the complexity. This course is beginner-friendly and is taught step-by-step in a video format.

3 hrs

course logo

SwiftUI Livestreams

This is a compilation of the SwiftUI live streams hosted by Meng. Over there he talks and teaches how to use design systems, typography, navigation, iOS 14 Design, prototyping, animation and Developer Handoff.

19 hrs

course logo

UI Design Livestreams

This is a compilation of the UI live streams hosted by Meng. Over there he talks and teaches how to use design systems, typography, navigation, iOS 14 Design, prototyping, animation and Developer Handoff.

26 hrs

course logo

UI Design for Developers

In this course we'll learn how to use design systems, set up break points, typography, spacing, navigation, size rules for adapting to the iPad, mobile and web versions, and different techniques that translate well from design to code.

3 hrs

course logo

Build an app with SwiftUI Part 3

This course was written for designers and developers who are passionate about design and about building real apps for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS and watchOS. SwiftUI works across all of those platforms. While the code is not a one-size-fits-all, the controls and techniques involved can apply to all platforms. It is beginner-friendly, but it is also packed with design tricks and cool workflows about building the best UIs and interactions.

4 hrs

course logo

Build an app with SwiftUI Part 2

This course was written for designers and developers who are passionate about design and about building real apps for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS and watchOS. SwiftUI works across all of those platforms. While the code is not a one-size-fits-all, the controls and techniques involved can apply to all platforms. It is beginner-friendly, but it is also packed with design tricks and cool workflows about building the best UIs and interactions.

4 hrs

course logo

Build a full site in Webflow

Webflow is a design tool that can build production-ready experiences without code. You can implement CSS-driven adaptive layouts, build complex interactions and deploy all in one tool. Webflow also comes with a built-in content management system (CMS) and Ecommerce for creating a purchase experience without the need of third-party tools.

3 hrs

course logo

Advanced Prototyping in ProtoPie

ProtoPie is a cross-platform prototyping tool that creates prototypes nearly as powerful as those made with code, with half of the efforts, and zero code. It's perfect for designers who want to quickly experiment with advanced interactions using variables, conditions, sensors and more.

3 hrs

course logo

Build an app with SwiftUI Part 1

This course was written for designers and developers who are passionate about design and about building real apps for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS and watchOS. SwiftUI works across all of those platforms. While the code is not a one-size-fits-all, the controls and techniques involved can apply to all platforms. It is beginner-friendly, but it is also packed with design tricks and cool workflows about building the best UIs and interactions.

4 hrs

course logo

React Native for Designers Part 2

React Native is a popular Javascript framework that builds on top of React by using native components to create a real mobile app indistinguishable from one made using Xcode or Android Studio. The main difference with native development is that you get to use CSS, hot-reload, Javascript and other familiar techniques that the Web has grown over the past decades. Most importantly, you're building for both iOS and Android using the same codebase.

3 hrs

course logo

React Native for Designers

React Native is a popular Javascript framework that builds on top of React by using native components to create a real mobile app indistinguishable from one made using Xcode or Android Studio. The main difference with native development is that you get to use CSS, hot-reload, Javascript and other familiar techniques that the Web has grown over the past decades. Most importantly, you're building for both iOS and Android using the same codebase.

5 hrs

course logo

Design System in Figma

Learn how to use and design a collaborative and powerful design system in Figma. Design Systems provide a shared library of reusable components and guidelines and that will let you build products much faster

3 hrs

course logo

React for Designers

Learn how to build a modern site using React and the most efficient libraries to get your site/product online. Get familiar with Grid CSS, animations, interactions, dynamic data with Contentful and deploying your site with Netlify.

3 hrs

course logo

Swift Advanced

Learn Swift a robust and intuitive programming language created by Apple for building apps for iOS, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Watch

9 hrs

course logo

Learn Swift

Learn Swift a robust and intuitive programming language created by Apple for building apps for iOS, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Watch

4 hrs

course logo

Learn Sketch

Learn Sketch a design tool entirely vector-based and focused on user interface design

5 hrs

course logo

Learn iOS 11 Design

Learn colors, typography and layout for iOS 8

1 hrs