App Icon: How to Get It Right?

An icon might be tiny, but it is meant to become the trademark of your app on the store. This seemingly small thing can make a big difference to the numbers your app manages to crunch on the app store. One of the most crucial elements in an app, an icon is the first thing that users see on the store (Yes! Even before the title) and decide whether or not to download your app. Here are a few smart tips on how to create an app icon that gets you the eyeballs on the app store.

1. Make it Scalable

Icons are designed on large screens, but are meant to be fitted into 0.5 x 0.5 inch square space. Sometimes, designers neglect this seemingly simple fact, resulting in a cluttered design. Moreover, apps are meant to be consumed on multiple devices - Smartphones, tablets and phablets. While designing icons, one has to make sure that the icon scales gracefully when the user switches from an iPad to an iPhone.

2. Make it Simple

According to some psychological studies, a user takes as less as 5 seconds to take the decision to download your app or ignore it. Try to make your icon do everything at once and you might confuse the user, or worse yet, make him switch to other similar apps. A good icon looks simple and fuss-free. Simplicity is a virtue, even on the app store.

3. Make it Memorable

90% of the brain processes is visual. So an icon plays a crucial role in conveying the value of your app. The best icons are those that just stick in users’ heads. Make your icon unique and memorable. One way to do that is using the right colours and imagery as per your industry. Also, the best icons reflect the functionality of an app.

4. Make it Unique

Let’s face it - Your app might not be the only one to offer the latest fashion accessories or best travel deals. And that’s quite okay! But you can always make your app stand out on the app store with an icon. Generic icon are destined to get lost on the app store. In contrast, novel icons stand apart and make the users want to download your app.

After all that hard work, you finally managed to pull off designing a winning icon. But before you launch your app, might we suggest, test several variations of your app icon before and see what works and what doesn’t. Choose a mobile app builder that offers a free pre-launch on-device trial.