Icon localization
When choosing and designing icons, consider picking symbols that work well across languages and cultures without having to create new icons to adapt to each localization.
Best practices
Use an icon that can be universally understood. An example is showing bills to depict money without depicting a specific currency. Or a safe to depict wealth generation.
Use an icon that depicts currency not used in other countries, or that may be offensive in other cultures. For example, while a piggy bank might appropriately signify wealth generation on an English site or app, it might not suit a culture where pigs have a negative connotation.
Using letters and scripts in icons
In general, we avoid using text in icons so that we don’t have to adapt icons to every language. However, there are times when using a particular script is necessary in an icon. Examples are text-editing UIs that communicate a script-related concept, like font-size choice. Consider creating an adapted version of those icons that'd include an RTL script.
Some icons might need to be removed because they don’t apply to an RTL language—for example, icons representing capitalization don't apply to Arabic.
Related
RTL iconography
See how to use icons in right-to-left and bi-directional languages
Iconography guidelines
Usage guidelines and best practices for our product icon library
Icon component
A component for using icons in product interfaces
Icon requests
How to request an icon if it doesn't exist in our library