Are you a graphic designer and want to design an app icon effortlessly?
But, are you not able to:
Yes, making an app icon is undoubtedly a tedious process. But, if you know the right process, you can surely make it impressive. Making a compelling app icon not only helps your client’s brand to stand out but also helps to increase downloads. Infact, according to the ResearchGate study, mobile app icons are a very impactful factor for getting users’ attention to the mobile app.
Thus, to design an aesthetic app icon, we at Space-O-Technologies have come up with an easy solution. We have curated a 7-steps guide on how to make an app icon hassle-free.
Let’s discuss.
In this blog, we are not going to guide you on how to create an app icon using Photoshop or any other app designing tools. Instead, you will learn the process of making mobile application icons for all the app platforms. Being a leading mobile app development company in Canada, we have tried to make the process of creating the app icons as easy as possible.
When you connect with your client, firstly understand how the app works and what benefit it provides to the end-users. Then ask what, why, how:
Apart from this, understand if your client has any specific requirements like minimalistic design or text in the app icon.
Getting answers to all these questions will help you to get understand how to make the app icon impressive. Once you get clear about the requirements of the clients, it’s time to think about the concept of the mobile app.
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Once you understand the client’s requirements, check the competitors’ app icon design ideas. Check out what kind of app icons they have used and how you can make the icon stand out from others. Even you can ask the client to share the competitor’s list with you to get the general idea of the app icon.
While performing the research on icons, check the following points:
Going through all these little details will help you make the app icon unique and appealing.
Additionally, you can search the relevant keywords and browse on the websites like Behance, Dribble, or Pinterest. These websites help you get an idea of the font, colors, and themes.
Even it is crucial to understand the age group of the client’s target audience and the demographics the client wants to target. This helps you to select the age-specific color hues and gradients.
Furthermore, check the following image of the Google Play Store to understand how you can build unique icons.
Image Source: Google Play Store
Before you start to create an app icon, check out the guidelines from App Store and Play Store.
To make it easy for you, here are some important points to take care of from the guidelines while designing an app icon for Android and iOS.
Android | iOS |
---|---|
Don’t use text or graphics that deceives the app users | Design a beautiful app icon that distinctly matches the purpose of the app |
Don’t freely design the entire size of the app icon; instead, only utilize the keylines grid | Keep the app icon simple because too much of details will end up to nothing |
Use the entire background of your asset space, so your artwork occupies entire keylines | Focus and highlight on a single point as it easily conveys the message with the application icon |
You can only create shadows within the icon artwork | Keep an app’s icon similar across the platforms as it becomes easy for the target audience to identify your app |
You can only upload PNG files of your app icon in the store | It is suggestible if you are keeping real objects in the icon then also make it look real |
Remember, the app icon should represent the brand, so make it according to your client’s app’s objectives. You can also check the top UI/UX design trends to develop the icon of the app.
Also, here are some general points that could be helpful to you when making a mobile app icon.
Also, we’ve created a summary of each store’s guidelines on making custom icons. Check the following table to know the icon size.
Parameters | Google Play Store (Android) | Apple App Store (iOS) |
---|---|---|
Dimensions | 512px X 512px | iPhone: 60×60 pt (180×180 px @3x) 60×60 pt (120×120 px @2x)
iPad Pro: 83.5×83.5 pt (167×167 px @2x) iPad, iPad mini: 76×76 pt (152×152 px @2x) App Store: 1024×1024 pt (1024×1024 px @1x) |
Format | 32-bit PNG | PNG |
Color mode | sRGB | P3, sRGB, or Gray Gamma 2.2 |
Max icon size | 1024 KB | 1024 KB |
Shape of icon | Square – app stores automatically round of 20% shape of an icon | Square without rounded corners |
Once you understand the guidelines, create a sample icon for your clients. Designing two or three versions of the app icons makes the work easy for the client to select the right one.
But how will you create a mock-up?
Check out the below points to know the easy way of creating a mock-up.
You can design five to six different icons in the mock-up as per the iconography and guidelines of app stores. Keep the minimum details in the app icons and focus only on highlighting a single point.
Because the app icons would be seen on different platforms, you need to take care that app icons look original without getting blurred or changed.
Let us check out some of the amazing app icons of different apps.
Slack | YouTube | Gmail | |
---|---|---|---|
Once you have designed the app icon, get it finalized by the client. Take feedback on whether the app icon fits as per his industry type and requirements. And when the client sends you feedback, understand:
Once the client approves your custom icon, make a different size version of the app icon for the home screen, notifications, launcher icons, App Stores, and Play Stores.
Using this app icon creation process, we have developed popular solutions and mobile apps like video-sharing eCommerce app, meat-processing software, and roof management app. Here’s our portfolio to know we design the app icons.
Above, we have portrayed the step-by-step process followed at Space-O to create an app icon. Let’s even understand the tools used to create an app icon design.
To design a mobile app, we have listed a few tools that you can use to create an app icon design.
Logo | App Design Tool | Platform Compatibility | Price | Ratings (Capterra) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Adobe XD |
|
| 4.6 741 Reviews | |
Figma |
|
| 4.7 331 Reviews | |
Marvel App |
|
| 4.5 79 Reviews | |
InVision |
|
| 4.6 647 Reviews | |
Axure RP |
|
| 4.4 97 Reviews | |
UXPin |
|
| 4.2 22 Reviews | |
Adobe Photoshop |
|
| 4.8 288 Reviews |
You can even use freeset tools like Canva, App Icon Maker, and Visme to develop appealing app icon designs.
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Let us now check some of the frequently asked questions users often search. Read the following section.
Yes, Figma is a designing tool. You can opt for readymade templates to design your mobile app icon. Not only this, it is the ultimate tool that helps to do designing for multiple purposes.
To get experienced mobile app designers, check out the following websites.
Here’re some of the websites to find the free templates of mobile app icons
In this blog, you have learned the process of making app icons, tips, tools, and websites to look for app icon designers. Now, you have all the information about designing an amazing app icon for a mobile app.
Whether you’re designing for an existing app icon or a new icon for a mobile app, following this process will help you to improve the app icon design to attract a larger audience. If you have any doubts about creating an app design, you are free to contact our UI/UX design team.
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