Iconfinder

• As requested, the research team reviewed all recent Iconfinder Designer Reports to identify any relevant mentions of trends related to hand-drawn and/or doodle-style icons.
• Notably, the Q1 2019 Iconfinder Designer Report highlighted the category-style combination of hand-drawn recreation & hobbies icons as the seventh greatest area of unmet demand for the quarter, adding that 991 such icons were sold in 2018.
• Subsequently, the Q2 2019 Iconfinder Designer Report noted that the search keyword "doodle" was one of several that appeared to be rising in popularity, with a quarterly increase of 39.89%.
• However, all other recent Iconfinder Designer Reports did not mention hand-drawn or doodle-style icons as a trend or potentially untapped source of demand.

Creative Market

• More recently in February 2020, Creative Market released a Design Trend Report for Hand Drawn Icons, within which new demand from startups for such images was highlighted.
• Specifically, startups including Mailchimp, Intercom, HelpScout and Buffer are increasingly leveraging hand-drawn graphics to "immediately differentiate" their brand identities.

Creative Bloq

• Similarly, Creative Bloq reported that "organic and handmade" icons were an emerging illustration trend for 2019.
• Specifically, Creative Bloq asserted that hand-drawn graphics were a "counter-trend" to the more dominant format of geometric graphics, adding that brands are attracted to things that look "organic and human made" amid the preponderance of "super-clean, sharp and sleek" images in the digital landscape.

Shutterstock

• Meanwhile, a slightly dated (November 2017) article published by Shutterstock claimed that "Hand Drawn Graphics and Icons are the Next Big Thing in Design."
• Notably, Shutterstock echoed many of the aforementioned comments, such as the "rising demand for authentic images" as well as the fact that brands are embracing hand-made icons to "differentiate themselves from the pack."
• Additionally, Shutterstock highlighted content marketing as a key opportunity for hand-drawn and doodle-style icons.