Free Pictogram Maker
Charts & GraphsMake a pictogram online: every item is one icon, colored by its group. Drag to set counts, click to edit. Icon arrays for counts, "1 in 5" stats, medals and albums. Free PNG.
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How to Use
- 1
Add your groups or items
Start from a sample, then drag across a group's icons to set how many it has, or type the counts in the Groups table under Data. For one icon per item, import lines from a spreadsheet (label, sub label, group, such as Speak Now, 2010, Taylor Swift), or paste counts like Gold, 40 or percentages like Smokers, 12.5%.
- 2
Pick an icon
Choose a vinyl record, person, trophy, medal, star, heart, house, car, film, music note, book, circle or square. Every item is drawn as one icon, row by row, left to right.
- 3
Color the groups
Each group gets its own color. Groups called Others or Everyone else start dimmed so the group your story is about stands out, and any color can be changed in the Data section.
- 4
Add the headline
Click the title, subtitle, a group name or a label on the pictogram to type. The big number fills itself in (8 of 23, 1 in 5 or a percentage) and follows your data until you type your own. Show the legend above or below, and labels and sub labels under each icon.
- 5
Edit on the pictogram
Click a group or icon to select it: arrow keys change a count or move an icon to another group, Delete removes it, and the dashed + adds a group or an icon. On a phone, tap a group, then drag.
- 6
Download
Pick Compact, Report, Square, Story or Slide and download a free PNG at exactly that size, with no watermark. Pro adds vector SVG and HD PNG.
Why Choose GraphMake?
How to Read a Pictogram
Each icon is one item. Count the icons of one color and you have the size of that group; compare the colors and you have the share. Because the icons are drawn in the order of your list, the pattern itself can carry the story, such as a run of highlighted icons clustered at the end of a timeline.
Icon arrays are used in medicine and public health because people judge risk better from "4 out of 20 people" drawn as figures than from "20%". The same idea works for any count small enough to see every item, from about 5 to a few hundred.
Pictogram, Pictograph, Icon Array or Isotype?
The names overlap. Pictograph is common in school math, where each picture can stand for more than one item (a key says one apple = 2 students). Icon array is the term in health communication, where each icon is one person. Isotype is the 1920s Vienna system of standardized picture statistics that all of them come from.
This maker draws one icon per item, the icon array way. To show large numbers, let each line stand for a round amount and say so in the subtitle, such as one icon = 1,000 people.
Making a Pictogram That Tells One Story
Give the group your point is about a strong color and leave everything else dim: the eye goes straight to the highlighted icons. A callout number above the grid, like 8 of 23, gives readers the takeaway before they count.
Keep the icon simple and on-topic: records for albums, medals for medal tables, people for surveys. For a phone screen or a video, choose the Compact or Story canvas and a Large or Extra large text size so the labels stay readable when the image is shrunk.
What You Can Create
Record Books and Rankings
Every album, title or trophy in a record list as one icon, in order, with one artist or team highlighted: 8 of the 23 million-selling weeks.
"1 in 5" Statistics
Health, survey and public-policy numbers shown as people, so a share of a group feels like real people rather than a percentage.
Medal and Award Counts
Gold, silver and bronze medals, awards or wins, one icon each in their own colors.
Classroom Pictographs
Favorite fruits, pets or books in a class, one picture per student, for elementary math lessons on reading pictographs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a pictogram chart?
A pictogram (or pictograph) shows a number as a row of small icons, each standing for one item or a fixed amount. Ten people become ten person icons, and the group each one belongs to is shown by its color, so a count reads at a glance without an axis.
What is an icon array?
An icon array is a pictogram where every icon is exactly one item, such as 1 person in a group of 20, or one album out of 23. Coloring some icons differently shows a share, like 1 in 5, in a way that is easier to grasp than a percentage. This maker draws one icon per item, so it is an icon array by default.
What is the difference between a pictogram and a waffle chart?
A waffle chart always has 100 cells and shows percentages. A pictogram shows real counts: 23 items are 23 icons, drawn in the order you paste them, each with its own label if you like. For percentages of a whole, use the /tools/waffle-chart-maker.
How do I make a 1 in 5 infographic?
Choose the 1 in 5 sample, or add two groups such as Has tried it, 4 and Everyone else, 16. The four highlighted people stand out against the sixteen dimmed ones, the callout shows 1 in 5 by itself, and if you drag the highlighted group to 7 it updates to 7 in 23.
Can each icon have its own label?
Yes. Import one line per item with a label and an optional sub label, like The Life of a Showgirl, 2025, Taylor Swift, then click any label on the pictogram to retype it. Switch on Labels under icons and Sub labels under icons in the Style section; long labels wrap onto as many lines as they need and are never cut off.
Can I use percentages?
Yes. Paste lines like Smokers, 12.5% and the pictogram becomes 100 icons, one per percent: the shares round to whole icons and the rest become Everyone else.
How many icons can a pictogram have?
Up to 400. The grid picks the number of columns that gives the biggest icons that fit the canvas, or you can set the columns yourself. If the icons would get too small, the canvas grows taller instead of cutting any off.
Is this pictogram maker free?
Yes. Making a pictogram and downloading it as a PNG is free, with no signup and no watermark. SVG and high-resolution PNG downloads are part of GraphMake Pro.
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