I thought an Armadillo would make a fun icon for a browser focused on security. By shortening the name to "Arma", we can play on the word "armour" to further reinforce this idea.

Iterations

I actually went through a few iterations for this design, which I feel was probably more necessary given that I've never drawn an armadillo before. I knew I wanted to have it curled around on itself in a self-defensive gesture to further emphasis the message of security.

The above image was my first pass at an icon, where I fell back on how I normally create illustrations. After feedback from friends, though, everyone agreed that something felt "off" about the design. I realised that my regular style probably isn't appropriate for an icon, which tend to be more clean-cut and flat, generally speaking.

To give it a flatter feel, I went back and changed my tactic, by creating a pure line-art version of the original composition. While this felt better overall, it lacked visual strength.

In the example above, I tried adding a flat layer of colour to the design. Again, this felt better, but the visual impact still wasn't there and it felt unfinished.

Above is my final iteration, the one you see in the thumbnail. By swapping the lined artwork for a design with negative lines, we get this kind of "cut out" effect a la the Apple logo, Nike, etc - a simple, bold shape. While my design is less reductive and minimal than the names mentioned, this final design carries the visual impact I was looking for and feels cleaner overall.