A system and method to define icon color of an icon image for program themes. At a server having a processor and storage, an icon definition file that includes a color handle and a shape definition of a first icon are stored. A plurality of cascading style sheets, each corresponding to a respective program theme, are also stored at the server. Each of the cascading style sheets corresponds to a respective program theme and includes a color definition mapped to the color handle. At the server, an active theme from among the program themes and an icon color, using the color definition associated with the active theme, are determined. An icon image for the first icon is then created based on the shape definition and the icon color.