How to Design an Icon Using Boolean Operations in Sketch

Sketch’s “boolean operations” allow us to create complex paths by combining existing shapes. Let’s learn how to make the most of them by designing an icon in this screencast tutorial.

“Boolean”, in terms of computer programming, is a data type which can be either “true” or “false”. In terms of graphics applications like Sketch, we use “boolean” to describe how shapes are combined, using values such as “and”, “or”, “not” etc.

You’ll sometimes hear boolean operations referred to as “Pathfinder” tools, and the options available are:

• Union: Where the result is the sum of both paths’ areas.
• Subtract: Where the area of the top path is removed from the one underneath.
• Intersect: Which leaves the area where the original shapes overlap.
• Difference: Effectively the opposite of “intersect”, leaving the parts where the original paths don’t overlap.