Duotone Icons

Our duotone style works just like all of our other icons. On top of that, they provide a version of every icon in Font Awesome that has two distinct shades of color. They’re great for adding more of your brand or an illustrative quality to the icons in your project.

Before You Get Started

Make sure you:

• set up Font Awesome in your project. If you haven’t, the quickes way is to make a kit.
• are familiar with the basic use of Font Awesome icons.
• are an active Pro-level plan subscriber or have a Pro license with access to Font Awesome version 5.10.0 or greater.
• are using Font Awesome version 5.10.0 or greater.

Basic Use

Duotone icons use the same syntax Font Awesome icons and can be referenced like any other icon using their specific style prefix (fad).

  <div class="fa-3x">
    <i class="fad fa-camera"></i> <!-- a duotone style camera icon -->
    <i class="fad fa-fire-alt"></i> <!-- a duotone style fire-alt icon -->
    <i class="fad fa-bus-alt"></i> <!-- a duotone style bus-alt icon -->
    <i class="fad fa-fill-drip"></i> <!-- a duotone style fill-drip icon -->
  </div>

Swapping Layer Opacity

You can swap the default opacity of each duotone icon’s layers. This will make an icon’s primary layer have the default opacity of 40% rather than its secondary layer.

  <div class="fa-3x">
    <i class="fad fa-camera"></i> <!-- a duotone style camera icon -->
    <i class="fad fa-camera fa-swap-opacity"></i> <!-- a duotone style camera icon with swapped opacity -->
    <i class="fad fa-fire-alt"></i> <!-- a duotone style fire-alt icon -->
    <i class="fad fa-fire-alt fa-swap-opacity"></i> <!-- a duotone style fire-alt icon with swapped opacity -->
    <i class="fad fa-bus-alt"></i> <!-- a duotone style bus-alt icon -->
    <i class="fad fa-bus-alt fa-swap-opacity"></i> <!-- a duotone style bus-alt icon with swapped opacity -->
  </div>

Your Turn!

Swap until you drop with these Codepen opacity-swapping examples.

Changing Opacity

By default, the secondary layer in a duotone icon is set to 40% opacity (via an opacity 0.4; rule in Font Awesome’s support CSS). You can explicitly set the opacity of a duotone icon’s layer by using the CSS custom properties below.

Properties	CSS Custom Property	Accepted Values
Set Primary Layer Opacity	--fa-primary-opacity	0 1.0
Set Secondary Layer Opacity	--fa-secondary-opacity	0 1.0

  <div class="fa-3x">
    <i class="fad fa-bus-alt" style="--fa-secondary-opacity: 0.20"></i> <!--  secondary layer's opacity set to 20% -->
    <i class="fad fa-bus-alt" style="--fa-secondary-opacity: 0.40"></i> <!--  secondary layer's opacity set to 40% -->
    <i class="fad fa-bus-alt" style="--fa-secondary-opacity: 0.60"></i> <!--  secondary layer's opacity set to 60% -->
    <i class="fad fa-bus-alt" style="--fa-secondary-opacity: 0.80"></i> <!--  secondary layer's opacity set to 80% -->
    <i class="fad fa-bus-alt" style="--fa-secondary-opacity: 1.0"></i> <!--  secondary layer's opacity set to 100% -->
  </div>

  <div class="fa-3x">
    <i class="fad fa-bus-alt" style="--fa-primary-opacity: 0.20"></i> <!--  primary layer's opacity set to 20% -->
    <i class="fad fa-bus-alt" style="--fa-primary-opacity: 0.40"></i> <!--  primary layer's opacity set to 40% -->
    <i class="fad fa-bus-alt" style="--fa-primary-opacity: 0.60"></i> <!--  primary layer's opacity set to 60% -->
    <i class="fad fa-bus-alt" style="--fa-primary-opacity: 0.80"></i> <!--  primary layer's opacity set to 80% -->
    <i class="fad fa-bus-alt" style="--fa-primary-opacity: 1.0"></i> <!--  primary layer's opacity set to 100% -->
  </div>

Your Turn!

Let’s make sure this concept is super “transparent”. Try tinkering with these different opacity examples.

Coloring Duotone Icons

Like all other Font Awesome icons, duotone icons automatically inherit CSS size and color. A duotone icon consists of a primary and secondary layer. By default, The secondary layer is given an opacity of 40% so that it appears as a lighter shade of the icon’s inherited or directly set color.

Using CSS custom properties, we’ve also added some color hooks to a duotone icon’s primary and secondary layers. New to custom properties? Here are some places to set them.

Properties	CSS Custom Property	Accepted Values
Set Primary Layer Color	--fa-primary-color	Any valid CSS color value
Set Secondary Layer Color	--fa-secondary-color	Any valid CSS color value

  <div class="fa-3x">
    <i class="fad fa-bus-alt" style="--fa-primary-color: gold;"></i>  <!-- primary layer color defined -->
    <i class="fad fa-bus-alt" style="--fa-primary-color: orangered;"></i> <!-- primary layer color defined -->
    <i class="fad fa-fill-drip" style="--fa-secondary-color: limegreen;"></i>  <!-- secondary layer color defined -->
    <i class="fad fa-fill-drip" style="--fa-secondary-color: rebeccapurple;"></i> <!-- secondary layer color defined -->
    <i class="fad fa-battery-full" style="--fa-primary-color: limegreen; --fa-secondary-color: dimgray;"></i> <!-- secondary + primary layer color defined -->
    <i class="fad fa-battery-quarter" style="--fa-primary-color: orange; --fa-secondary-color: dimgray;"></i> <!-- secondary + primary layer color defined -->
  </div>

Your Turn!

Here’s a Codepen that has some coloring examples for you to go cray-cray(ola) with.

Advanced Use

When you combine all of the coloring, opacity, and other options together, Font Awesome icons get even more awesome. Here are a few ideas on how duotone icons can take your project to the next level.

Use Color to Highlight a Part of an Icon or to Note Status

  <div class="fa-3x">
    <i class="fad fa-book" style="--fa-primary-color: lightseagreen; --fa-secondary-color: linen; --fa-secondary-opacity: 1.0;"></i>
    <i class="fad fa-book-spells" style="--fa-primary-color: mediumpurple; --fa-secondary-color: linen; --fa-secondary-opacity: 1.0;"></i>
    <i class="fad fa-book-medical" style="--fa-primary-color: crimson; --fa-secondary-color: linen; --fa-secondary-opacity: 1.0;"></i>
    <i class="fad fa-book-user" style="--fa-primary-color: peru; --fa-secondary-color: linen; --fa-secondary-opacity: 1.0;"></i>

    <i class="fad fa-toggle-off" style="--fa-primary-color: white; --fa-secondary-color: gray; --fa-secondary-opacity: 1.0;"></i>
    <i class="fad fa-toggle-on" style="--fa-primary-color: dodgerblue; --fa-secondary-color: white; --fa-secondary-opacity: 1.0;"></i>

    <i class="fad fa-file-plus" style="--fa-primary-color: white; --fa-secondary-color: limegreen; --fa-secondary-opacity: 1.0;"></i>
    <i class="fad fa-file-exclamation" style="--fa-primary-color: white; --fa-secondary-color: gold; --fa-secondary-opacity: 1.0;"></i>
    <i class="fad fa-file-times" style="--fa-primary-color: white; --fa-secondary-color: tomato; --fa-secondary-opacity: 1.0;"></i>
  </div>

Create Full-Color Icons that Look Like Illustrations

  <div class="fa-3x">
    <i class="fad fa-crow" style="--fa-secondary-opacity: 1.0; --fa-primary-color: dodgerblue; --fa-secondary-color: gold;"></i>
    <i class="fad fa-campfire" style="--fa-secondary-opacity: 1.0; --fa-primary-color: sienna; --fa-secondary-color: red;"></i>
    <i class="fad fa-birthday-cake" style="--fa-secondary-opacity: 1.0; --fa-primary-color: pink; --fa-secondary-color: palevioletred;"></i>
    <i class="fad fa-ear" style="--fa-secondary-opacity: 1.0; --fa-primary-color: sandybrown; --fa-secondary-color: bisque;"></i>
    <i class="fad fa-corn" style="--fa-secondary-opacity: 1.0; --fa-primary-color: mediumseagreen; --fa-secondary-color: gold;"></i>
    <i class="fad fa-cookie-bite" style="--fa-secondary-opacity: 1.0; --fa-primary-color: saddlebrown; --fa-secondary-color: burlywood;"></i>
  </div>

Theme Icons with Brand Colors

  <style>
    .theme-ravenclaw {
      --fa-secondary-opacity: 1.0;
      --fa-primary-color: rgb(4, 56, 161);
      --fa-secondary-color: rgb(108, 108, 108);
    }
  </style>
  <div class="fa-3x">
    <i class="fad fa-hat-wizard theme-ravenclaw"></i>
    <i class="fad fa-flask-potion theme-ravenclaw"></i>
    <i class="fad fa-wand-magic theme-ravenclaw"></i>
    <i class="fad fa-scarf theme-ravenclaw"></i>
    <i class="fad fa-book-spells theme-ravenclaw"></i>
  </div>

Your Turn!

Ready for “Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts” and Duotone Icon Use? Here are some advanced examples you can start from to cast some real duotone magic. Want to ace those upcoming O.W.L.s on theming? Check out even more examples.

Using in a Project

CSS custom properties are still a pretty new thing for most folks.

Setting Properties with CSS :root

You can define duotone icons’ custom properties at CSS :root pseudo-class level. This will make any duotone icons you include inherit the properties by default.

  <!-- by default, everything will be in the holiday spirit -->
  <style>
    :root {
      --fa-primary-color: green;
      --fa-secondary-color: red;
    }
  </style>

  <i class="fad fa-holly-berry"></i>
  <i class="fad fa-wreath"></i>
  <i class="fad fa-candy-cane"></i>

Setting Properties with Project-Based CSS Rules

You can also set custom properties inside of your project’s CSS, in the <head> of a page or in a separate stylesheet. These properties will be scoped to just elements that match the selector of the rule you’ve included them in. This technique is great for theming in general and when you may not have easy access to the raw HTML of your project.

  <!-- setting a rule for house styling -->
  <style>
    .theme-slytherin {
      --fa-primary-color: darkgreen;
      --fa-secondary-color: silver;
    }
  </style>

  <i class="fad fa-wand-magic theme-slytherin"></i>
  <i class="fad fa-scarf theme-slytherin"></i>
  <i class="fad fa-book-spells theme-slytherin"></i>

Setting Properties with Inline Styles

Many of the examples in these docs define CSS custom properties using inline styling by adding a style attribute to an element. This is best for one-offs or very custom colored/styled duotone icons that you won’t need to change at a system level.

  <!-- using inline styles to define duotone icon custom properties -->
  <i class="fad fa-crow" style="--fa-primary-color: dodgerblue; --fa-secondary-color: gold;"></i>

Be careful of specificity and cascade!

CSS Custom properties that are redefined will trump each other. Defining a property in :root {} and then defining the same property in a rule or inline will result in the :root style being overridden.

Accessibility Best Practices

Because duotone icons are made up of two layers with different color values, they can be more like illustrations than other Font Awesome styles and need extra care for accessibility.

Since they are more complex visually, duotone icons may be harder to read at smaller sizes. In addition to that, the colors and opacity you choose for each icon’s layers can also affect their legibility. Some tips for improving legibility and accessibility:

• Render duotone style icons at larger sizes (2x your base type size is a good starting point).
• Test layer colors together to make sure they have enough color contrast.
• Test layer colors together to make sure they handle color-blindness scenarios well.

Duotone Cheatsheet

Properties	Syntax	Values	Notes
Set Primary Layer Opacity	--fa-primary-opacity	0 1.0	Use as a CSS custom property
Set Secondary Layer Opacity	--fa-secondary-opacity	0 1.0	Use as a CSS custom property
Set Primary Layer Color	--fa-primary-color	Any valid CSS color value	Use as a CSS custom property
Set Secondary Layer Color	--fa-secondary-color	Any valid CSS color value	Use as a CSS custom property
Swap Layers’ Opacity	fa-swap-opacity	N/A	Add alongside other Font Awesome-specific classes to <i>

Troubleshooting

Can I use Duotone Icons by using CSS pseudo-elements?

Yes, the duotone icon style can be used alongside CSS pseudo-elements. Doing so is even more complicated than the base difficulty of rendering icons with CSS pseudo-elements. It’s recommended only for those who can’t control the final markup of their site/project as well as ninjas who want complete control over their markup.

Doh! The icon I want to use isn’t showing up in duotone style!

Let’s double-check a few things.

• Are you using the duotone-specific fad style prefix?
• Duotone icons are only available with Font Awesome Pro — make sure you have an active Pro-level plan or a Pro license with access to Version 5.10.0 or greater.
• We release icons pretty frequently these days. Make sure you’re using the latest and greatest version, so any new icons you want to use are at your fingertips.
• If you’ve decided to host your own copy of Font Awesome, check that you’ve moved all of the files you need to use the icon you want. Also, double-check the paths to those files in your HTML’s <head>.

Help! I can’t target individual layers!

Make sure you’re using the correct custom property values. Also, make sure you haven’t defined a custom property that may be overriding things (check inline and in your custom CSS). We don’t recommend writing custom CSS to target a specific class or pseudo-element — there are some differences between our Web Fonts and SVG versions of Font Awesome that can make this tricky.

Can I use other Font Awesome styling alongside duotone icons

If you’re using the SVG + JS version of Font Awesome, our power transforms and layering let you do some pretty amazing stuff. And you can use things like sizing, fixed-width icons, and animations with duotone icons, too.

Do duotone icons work with all browsers?

Duotone icons render great in all modern web browsers. Since Internet Explorer versions 10 and 11 do not support CSS Custom properties, duotone icons will still render in that browser but you won’t be able to define colors or opacity for individual layers. If you must support that outdated browser, we recommend defining the color on the icon or its parent element instead.