8 ways to make your app icon stand out

The app icon plays a very important role in the click-through rate (CTR) of the app. Just like a blind date, the first impression often comes before the appearance. If the person does not look like what is expected or is not well dressed, people will be unwilling to interact with him/her. The same is true for application icons, so during the operation process we must continuously optimize the icon so that it can stand out from competitors.

Importance of visual content

With the rapid development of mobile Internet , people are often overwhelmed by all kinds of information and huge amounts of content. Therefore, it becomes extremely difficult to capture people’s attention, but it is certain that visual content advertising is more important than written content advertising. Why? Because it allows information to be transmitted to the brain faster.

Let’s analyze the first steps a user takes to download an app.

1. Find users of a specific APP. They will type the brand word directly into the search box and usually find it quickly.

2. Look for an app in a specific category. They usually browse categories in the app store until they find an app that seems good.

3. Use keywords to search for apps. They are looking for a specific type of application but don’t know which one to download.

We will focus on types 2 and 3 here. When users search for apps in the App Store, they scroll down to find the app that best suits their expectations. During this time, the first thing they see is the APP icon. Then, they see the app title. Of course they also see the app ratings.

The main difficulty lies in actually getting users to click on the APP, and the app icon is the first APP information that users see, so it becomes very important whether the app icon can attract users and encourage them to click. So how do you use icons to get users’ attention and then entice them to click and download the app?

1. Beauty is in simplicity

Users like to get the apps they want in the simplest way, so the app icon also needs to be easy to understand. Because when the APP is displayed on a smartphone, the icon is relatively small. If they are too complex, it may confuse the user. It should not be loaded with too much content. There is no need to use too many colors. One or two main colors should be enough. Simple icons tend to convert more than complex icons.

For example, these 2 icons seem too complex because they have too much content and too much information, making it difficult for users to understand.

2. It’s better to have a border than no border

An icon with a border can have a greater impact on users than an app icon without any border. The reason is simple: it can stand out in the App Store. In addition, when users download the app to the mobile desktop , the app with a border icon is more conspicuous than other apps. So, it is recommended that you put a nice border around your app icon, preferably using a strong color or a flashy pattern. Here are some examples:

The last one is a particularly interesting icon because its border creates a 3D effect. This effect reminds me of an H5 advertisement made by BMW a while ago with a similar style to the one above. It is said that BMW's advertisement has exploded in the circle of friends!

3. Avoid using text

App icons usually do not contain any text or words, because “a picture is worth a thousand words”. Pictures are easier to understand than text and are less confusing. In most cases, the app title and app icon are complementary, so why should we go to the trouble of including text in the app icon?

Here are some negative examples of icons that have too many characters and create confusion:

4. Use brand logos with caution

Some developers may think that it would be a good idea to directly use their own brand logo for the app icon, but the premise is that the developer's brand is already well known to the public and has a strong visual recognition. However, it is not recommended if your brand logo is not well known. In fact, this is easy to understand. If the icon cannot attract the user's attention, then the user is very likely to skip our APP directly.

5. Flat and matte

On iOS 6, the Apple icon has a glossy effect. When developers submit applications to the APPStore, some developers will choose Apple's built-in glossy effect, hoping to make the APP stand out on the user's mobile phone desktop. But in fact, doing so has the opposite effect, because this shiny effect can easily be the same as Apple's default icon. Later, on iOS7, there are still many icons with glossy effects. Here, Qinggua Media recommends that you do not use any glossy effect on the APP icon, just keep it matte and flat.

Here is a comparison between Apple’s icons for iOS 6 and iOS 7.

In fact, now with iOS 10, Apple has given users more permissions to change icons. For example, users can change the specific style of any APP icon. Of course, the steps will be a bit cumbersome, and the four icons below the iOS 10 control center all support 3D Touch. For example, you can set the brightness on the flashlight and set a timer on the clock. Therefore, when developers choose application icons, they focus on their display effects in the APP Store.

6. Update your icon

It is very important to update your icons from time to time. For example, if we are creating special versions for special occasions or seasons (Chinese New Year, Christmas, Mid-Autumn Festival, summer, winter, etc.), we should not hesitate to give the app icon a new look to match the new version.

If our app has important new features, we should also consider updating the icon, because the original icon may not be able to clearly express and represent our new APP. In fact, Qinggua Media believes that it is not necessary to completely redesign the icon when updating it. We can see from the example below that the application icon of this APP changes with the seasons.

If you update your app with significant new features, update the icon as well. You might want to rethink your icon as it may no longer be relevant enough to describe or represent your new app.

You can see that the icons are very simple and, most importantly, very similar. The hippo moves the same way on each icon, the only thing that changes is the background scenery.

7. Analyze and compare your competitors

Before creating an icon, you may want to check what your competitors are doing. This is very important. Different types of apps have different choices for icons, so you can check out a lot of ideas from your competitors. Remember, don’t copy! Of course, there are many apps that use icons that are highly similar to well-known app icons to deceive users and increase downloads, but we don’t recommend doing this. It will not only fail to retain users, but also damage your reputation.

By looking at the icon styles of competitors, finding creativity and inspiration, and then coming up with ideas and improvement suggestions that are completely different from those of competing icons, it is possible for us to be ahead of competitors in APP icons.

8. Test your icon

When we have prepared the icon, don’t think that our work is done. We still need to find different people to test it and let them give feedback on whether the app icon is attractive and good-looking. During the process, we can show them various app icons without telling them which one is ours, and then ask them which one they like best and why. (A friend of mine who is also a developer found a group of children to do the test because he believed that children are the most innocent and will not tell lies.)

When testing the app icon, we also need to test how our APP icon will look on wallpapers of different colors, because current smartphones allow custom backgrounds. Only after a lot of testing can the use of the app icon be determined. So, even though it’s just a small icon, it takes a lot of effort for developers to play with it well.

Mobile application product promotion service: APP promotion service Qinggua Media information flow

This article was compiled and published by @Cicada Master (Qinggua Media). Please indicate the author information and source when reprinting!