Faviconiin

Faviconiin is a proposed open standard for scalable and context-aware web icons designed to supplement or replace traditional favicons. The term merges the familiar favicon concept with ideas of enhanced information embedded in icons, aiming to support multiple resolutions, themes, and contexts from a single resource.

The core idea behind faviconiin is to describe a set of icon assets and their variants in a single manifest file. This manifest, such as faviconiin.json, would list resources with attributes like sizes, formats (raster or vector), color variants, and purpose (for example regular, maskable, or monochrome). A web page would reference the manifest and, when possible, a rendering engine would choose the most appropriate icon based on device pixel ratio, platform, and user theme.

Implementation approaches emphasize progressive enhancement and backward compatibility. Pages may include traditional rel="icon" links as fallbacks while exposing a faviconiin manifest to capable browsers or tooling. This approach aims to reduce asset duplication by centralizing variants and enabling more consistent branding across devices and environments.

Advantages of faviconiin include potential improvements in visual consistency on high-density displays, better support for theme changes, and streamlined asset management for designers and developers. However, faviconiin remains experimental and not widely standardized or implemented in major browsers, with ongoing discussions in web-standards communities.

Related topics include standard favicons, web manifests, vector icons, and responsive icon design.