Do you know what all popular iPhone apps have in common? They all have amazing, eye-catching icons. These icons not only attract the user’s attention when he or she is browsing the App Store, but they are also memorable, which makes them work in the long term. To cut a long story short, an app’s icon is not just a little image that has to be there because the App Store asks for it – it’s a part of your app’s or game’s design that can be crucial to its success.
So, how do you design an iOS icon that works? In this article we are going to share some icon design tips that will help you create beautiful iOS icons.
Create a unique icon shape
Life would be very boring if all icons looked the same. And a lot of them do. If you want your app to stand out, make sure its icon stands out too. A great way to do that is to create an icon that has a unique shape and is instantly recognizable.
Mix your colours well
A colourful icon is nice. But an icon that is too colourful and whose colours don’t work together can ruin your app’s chances on the App Store. Stick to a limited colour palette and combine colours that complement each other.
Reflect the content
A good icon should not only look nice, but also reflect what’s inside. This means that when you are creating an icon, you are really creating a recognizable image form of your content. Ideally you should make the icon speak in a creative manner that appeals to the user.
Go text-free
If you can design an iOS app icon that doesn’t need to use any text, do so. A powerful image is stronger than a thousand words, so try to make the image work for you. True, a lot of companies use their name as their logo, but you can still make an icon reflect your brand without adding text.
Keep things simple
The new iOS 7 is a lot more minimalistic in its look than the previous ones. So, the bottom line is that your app icons have to look good on an iOS 7 device. Keeping things simple is the key here, as minimalism is clearly the current trend.
