Collaborative Workshop Created Universal Symbol for LED Lighting

As the world prepares to celebrate Earth Day, Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE)  and The Noun Project are pleased to release 15 new symbols for energy-efficient technologies, including LED lighting, designed during the recent Iconathon at the Cree campus in Durham. The symbols are now available for public download here.

“By collaborating with The Noun Project, we now have a universal symbol that represents LED lighting, filling a significant void in the energy-efficient lighting landscape,” said Ginny Skalski, social media specialist, Cree. “As Cree continues leading the way for LED lighting adoption, this new icon will allow the public and the media to stop using antiquated Edison or swirly CFL bulb designs to symbolize lighting.”

The day-long collaborative workshop, led by The Noun Project co-founder Edward Boatman, included nearly 40 attendees who sketched new symbols for LED lighting and a variety of energy-efficient technologies. All of the designs were discussed and critiqued to ensure the best iconic representation for each of the 15 energy-efficient technologies and concepts, including wind and solar farms and energy audits. The sketches were recently digitized and are now available for public use under a Creative Commons license.

“One of the core themes that emerged from the group discussions was that LED is a radically different light source from any of its predecessors,” said Boatman. “Therefore, we all felt it was appropriate and necessary to break free from any past ‘light bulb’ design elements. LED lighting needed to have its own distinct and identifiable mark.”

“As a group we decided that the two essential elements to the final design were the LED component that produces the light, and of course light itself,” Boatman continued. “The final design honors both of these elements with a three-dimensional diamond shape representing the component and the use of negative space to represent a powerful and focused beam of light.”

The Noun Project is a growing open sourced visual library of the symbols and icons that form the world’s visual language. The Noun Project organizes Iconathons around the country to collaboratively design new sets of civic symbols.