APP STORE ICON DESIGN TIPS

DESIGNING YOUR ICON

Use elements from your app. Having some common elements from your app in your icon will help portray what your app is all about, and shows directly what your app is.

Make the icon aesthetically pleasing. A good looking, well designed icon will always get viewed more, and interests the viewer.

Use a similar style as your app. For example, its a bit strange if your app was made in a clean, illustrated style but your icon is a cartoon or bitmap style. Doing this is less confusing for the consumer.

Use complimentary colours. Reference the colour wheel theory when choosing a colour palette for your design, this can help portray your app in a certain way, e.g. Orange and Blue work well in a Sci-Fi style app.

Keep your audience in mind. A younger audience would probably scroll strait past a simple, more mature design if they were looking for a kids game/app. Tailor your icon based on your target audience.

Use the App Store/Google Play icon design guidelines.

AUDIENCE TYPEI think the audience for my game

would have a home screen that

looks similar to this.

I have chosen apps that I think a

casual gamer would have, from

social networking apps to a few

casual games such as Candy Crush.

Instagram - This person likes going out with friends and posting his photos to Instagram.

YouTube - As a younger audience this person also enjoys watching videos in their spare time.

Candy Crush - As a casual gamer, this person enjoys playing this in his spare time around school or college.

Canabalt - Much like Candy Crush, this person will play this game in his spare time.

VSCOcam - For editing his photos he posts on Instagram.

Twitter - This person likes to stay in touch with friends and news from the outside world.

Vine - This is a kind of miscellaneous app for this person, but they sometimes enjoy browsing the funny videos on this app.

Jetpack Joyride - Another casual game in the endless runner genre.

Snapchat - This person enjoys interacting with friends via photos.

Shazam - To find songs they enjoy from the radio.

Soundcloud - To find the songs they have found on Shazam.

Supreme - Misc.

INITIAL IDEAS FOR GAME/APP

Gameplay/Screenshot

Character/Action

Abstract/Iconic

Title asText

Symbolic/Thematic

Language asImage

ABSTRACT/ICONIC LOGO FEEDBACK

CHARACTER ACTION LOGO FEEDBACK

ACTION PLAN FOR IMPROVEMENTS

- Crop the image slightly wider to show more of the

skateboard.

- Make CHAD pop out from the background, maybe

using a drop shadow.

- Use more colourful background using more

colours from the game.

- Keep basic layout with above changes and small

tweaks, e.g. colours/contrast.

CHAD APP STORE RATING

DRUGS No reference to drugs.

IMITABLE BEHAVIOUR Jumping over walls and cars whilst on a skateboard.

LANGUAGE No swearing but aggressive sounding shouts.

NUDITY No reference to nudity.

SEX No reference to sex.

THREAT Frightening sequences and situations where CHAD is in danger, e.g. Cars coming toward CHAD.

VIOLENCE Mild violence when CHAD crashes and ‘blows up’ in blue explosion.

CHAD APP STORE RATING

9+12+

Applications in this category may contain mild or infrequent occurrences of

cartoon, fantasy or realistic violence, and infrequent or mild mature, suggestive, or

horror-themed content which may not be suitable for children under the age of 9.

Applications in this category may also contain infrequent mild language, frequent

or intense cartoon, fantasy or realistic violence and mild or infrequent mature or

suggestive themes, and simulated gambling which may not be suitable for children

under the age of 12.

I believe CHAD falls somewhere in between

these two categories, maybe edging toward

the 9+ category.

FINAL DESIGN PROCESS

First I chose to

work on the

background, using

different and more

relevant colours.

I then dropped in

the redesigned

character on top

of the background.

I proceeded to add

a drop shadow, so

that the character

‘popped out’ from

the background.

I then chose to use

greyscale and the

guidelines to

compose the icon.

Last, I cut out the

corners of the

image for a final

mock up of what it

would look like in

the app store.

I like the overall design of this icon, but I

think it could be better in some ways, like

the style of the game. To keep the icon

true to the game, I had to keep it looking

8/16 Bit, which becomes really simple and

possibly a bit boring, but I think it works,

as it displays the themes and style of our

game well.

CHAD App Store Icon