PICOL (PIctoral COmmunication Language) is an universal icon set for electronic communication.

The icons were made as a coursework by Melih Bilgil and attempt to provide a standardized way of communicating with application users.

Although some icons are confusing and the license requires attribution, these are the only criticisms about the PICOL icons.

There are about 520 icons altogether in the icon library, and you can generate thousands more with the icon generator.

• Website: http://www.picol.org/index.php

Zocial is a CSS3 button set with 42 social icons. It’s image-free, small and easy to use.

CSS3 buttons have a number of obvious advantages in comparison to image buttons:

• Editable labels;
• Smaller bandwidth consumption;
• Graceful degradation;
• Editable size;
• etc.

The buttons are lean and clean and are clearly a professional work that *will* look good in most pages.

There’s no license to them, but Sam Collins, the author, notes that the buttons are free to use and edit — even for commercial projects.

• Website: http://zocial.smcllns.com/
• Demo: http://zocial.smcllns.com/sample.html

Bijou is a free icon set meant for general use in mobile apps and UIs.

The icons are supplied in 10×10 pixel PNG, and sources are available in CSH and PSD files.

Although the icons are more or less showcasing the wits of the designer(s), some are better and more original than the usual icons (e.g., the iPod icon is a rare thing to see in icon sets).

• Website: http://bijou.im/

Pixicus Icon Set is a generic icon set for web designers that’s actually useful for designers of all kinds.

The icons are best used for user interfaces, but are useful for other design elements, too (esp. the neat Digg icon).

The icons are available in PNG (which is a bit dull).

As holidays are approaching, expect more freebies like these to warm our firewalled hearts until the ice melts.

• Website: http://www.premiumpixels.com/freebies/pixicus-icon-set-106-pixel-perfect-icons/

365psd have published an awesome 160 icon set which consists of PSD icons for general use.

The fancy icons resemble the best minimalist traditions out there, and offer something for every web developer.

It houses icons ranging from direction buttons to media player icons and icons resembling people, et cetera.

You’ll particularly enjoy coloring these icons, as their color palette allows them to be colored with simple color corrections.

• Website: http://365psd.com/day/2-209/

Icons 8 is a regularly-updated icon set, inspired by the tentative Windows 8 interface.

The icons are neatly categorized and released in .PNG.

The icon set is updated regularly, and new icons are drawn based on community votes.

Icons 8 is a great icon set for UIs, and its minimalist looks suit the current web trends well.

• Website: http://icons8.com/