Our ligatures feature allows you to more easily insert icons into a document's text layer. Learn the basics of creating a text layer, selecting an icon, and adjusting the style and weight below.
When working in desktop applications, like Adobe Illustrator, Figma, and Sketch, you can use Font Awesome as a typeface in any text area. We have ligatures for each and every icon so you can type in the name of the icon you want and it will magically appear.
Add an Icon using Ligatures
Open a Document in Your Desktop App
After completing the steps in set up, open a new or existing document in the Desktop app you want to use Font Awesome icons in. We'll use a new document in Figma (opens new window) for the walkthrough below.
Create a New Text Layer
However your app allows you, create a new layer or text block to insert text into.
Set the Font/Typeface to Font Awesome 6
Next, using your app's font/typeface selector, find and select the Font Awesome icon family you want to use for the current text layer/block:
| Font/Typeface name | What's included |
|---|---|
| Font Awesome 6 Free | only the Free icons |
| Font Awesome 6 Pro | includes Classic Solid, Regular, Light, and Thin styles |
| Font Awesome 6 Duotone | includes Duotone Solid |
| Font Awesome 6 Sharp | includes Sharp Solid (more styles are coming soon!) |
| Font Awesome 6 Brands | only Brand icons |
Type the Icon's Name
Next, you're all set to reference the icon you want to use. Just start typing the icon's name and as you finish, our ligatures should convert the letters into the correct symbol. Geee, Mr. Wizard!
Don't worry if other icons appear as you are typing the text for the icon you want. Once you're done, our ligatures will honor the final word you've typed. You can also type in an icon's alias, if you like to stay undercover like Ethan Hunt.
Choose a Style by Adjusting Font Weights
Font Awesome 6 comes in several styles, depending on the typeface you're using. If you've installed all .otfs, you can change the weight of your text layer/block to switch between the different icon styles. (Duotone and Brands have their own font that only have one weight.)
| Font/Typeface | Style | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Font Awesome 6 Free | Solid Regular | 900 400 |
| Font Awesome 6 Pro | Classic Solid Classic Regular Classic Light Classic Thin | 900 400 300 100 |
| Font Awesome 6 Sharp | Sharp Solid (more styles are coming soon!) | 900 |
Duotones and Ligatures
You can also add duotone icons into your designs using ligatures, but you'll need to add each of the icon's layers separately, and then take an extra step to align the two layers.
Open your desktop design app and create a text box with the font set to Font Awesome 6 Duotone. To get the primary layer, type the icon's name and then one hash (#). To get the secondary layer, type name and two hashes (##).
| Layer | Shortcut | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Primary layer | [icon-name]# | crow# |
| Secondary layer | [icon-name]## | crow## |
Typing crow# will get you the body of the crow, and typing crow## will get you the beak and legs.
Then change the font size to the size you want them to appear and set the text boxes to the same height and width. Adjust the color and opacity of the two layers as you like. The last step is to align the two text boxes to overlap using the align tools for vertical and horizontal center.
Other Ways to Use Duotone Icons
You can also add duotone icons as as a single unit, but there are a few gotchas to consider. First, your graphics program or application will need to support embedded opacity within typefaces. (Otherwise, both layers of the duotone icon will appear as 100% black.) Also, you won't be able to change the color or opacity of the icon or its parts, unless you first convert the icon to outlines. The icon will default to black, with the second layer at 40% opacity. For this reason, we recommend using the two-part method above.