With more and more mobile applications being released every day, it is becoming increasingly important to pay attention to the design of icons. All icons are not made the same and if an app icon is not pleasant enough, it may not get the kind of attention it needs on the App Store or on the Play Store. A good app icon is simple, minimalist and yet fresh in design.
Good app icons are easy to recognize and people can easily ascertain what a particular application might be all about, just by looking at the icon. With a growing focus on branding, icons also need to be consistent with the overall branding of a company or product. This way, it is easier for people to associate an app with its larger company.
Whether you release an app as a standalone product or as one of the many branding tools, you need to be consistent with your approach and your icon needs to be very well designed. In this article, let us take a look at why so much focus needs to be given to something so tiny, so miniscule. The short answer is that it is really important to remain in people’s memories. The longer answer is given below.
Icons need to be easily recognizable. They should be aligned with your branding and they should also be something simple and minimalist. If icons are vague and if they do not utilize good color schemes, then they do not stay in people’s memories for long. Get an icon that is simple, fresh and minimalist. This helps people to recognize it quickly.
An icon needs to be visually attractive. It cannot provide any information other than a letter and probably the colour scheme or shape. For this reason alone, ensure that the final icon is as aesthetically pleasing as possible.
If an icon is too complex, people may not remember it or they may not be able to register it in their minds. An icon needs to be simple, fresh and easily recollected. For this purpose, it should not distract viewers with unnecessary textures, shapes and colors.
An icon should always be consistent with its larger branding strategy. The website, the logo of the company, and other branding materials should be consistent with the shape and color of the app icon. This helps to retain consistency and predictability of the icon. If consistency is not maintained it won’t be easy to recollect it.
Building great app icons
The more companies are moving towards enterprise mobility, the more app development is taking place at a breakneck pace. However, most people do not value the importance of how an icon looks. An app’s icon should be simple and consistent with the branding of the organization. People should be able to easily recollect and recognize it, and it should not distract people with unnecessary details. If these points are kept in mind while designing, there will always be consistency and recall value.
