Labs

For most Mac users, this is the daddy. The guys at The Iconfactory consistently turn out some of the very best icon designs, and they have a long history of fostering emerging talent with their annual Pixelpalooza contest.

They have to be good, as they provide professional icon design services at design.iconfactory.com, producing icons for such illustrious applications as Microsoft's Office v.X and Extensis' Suitcase.

The selection isn't as generous as from InterfaceLIFT, for example, but the quality is usually much higher. Styles range from the perfectly OS X-integrated World of Aqua sets to the perennially popular Smoothicons series, with mini-updates every few weeks.

The site can be a little tricky to navigate, and it's easy to miss that The Iconfactory offers links to a wide range of Mac customisation resources. There are plenty of pre-OS X icons available, too, and many can be downloaded as special icon packs ready for use, for example, with Pixadex and CandyBar.