What makes a good icon?
Simplicity is key here. You're looking for what in reality is a tiny square image to represent your app to users - so it needs to be coherent but not over complicated.
Things to avoid:
Words or full-length text
Complex or detailed illustrations
Lots of shapes and layers
Animation - Icons are static
Just think, if you squint and your image is still legible, then that's a good sign!
What to include?
A simple, single shape or logo - especially if one can form a single colour silhouette, that will work best.
Bold and distinctive colours - consider your brand colours, things that will be eye-catching and allow the logo or icon to be seen clearly.
Design guidance
You should design your icon in 1024x1024 pixels (px) - as this will mean it can work best at all sizes.
Apple and Android both apply icons and shapes differently. Whilst Apple have a pretty consistent rounded square, Android do use different shapes depending on the phone model.
Generally, we'd advise designing one logo for consistency - so in doing so, it is best design with Android in mind.
Android friendly design styles:
Presume you have 65% less space - keep your shapes, logos and image in the centre of the icon.
Treat the central safe-zone as a circle in the middle of your icon
Treat your background and icon as separate - for Android we'll need to submit these as two different layers.
When designing it is advisable to also view the icon at 60x60px (Home Screen), 24x24px (Notification), 16x16 (Windows Tab) - just to see how it reads, as this is what the user would see.
You should consider your sizing:
No strokes thinner than 2–3 px at 1024 scale as these shrink to invisibility at 16–24 px,
Avoid writing or font type smaller than around 90 px height in master file,
Keep the contrast strong - subtle shading disappears at tiny sizes.
Supplying your app icon
We need you to supply your app icon in so we can upload these to the App Store.
When you're ready with your icon send them to your Customer Success Manager, or if you're unsure, send to support@getvicinity.com
Consider longevity
You can change your icon once your app has launched, but when designing we'd encourage you to consider consistency - for instance giving you the choice to change it for a season or event takeover without becoming unrecognisable.
Here are some examples of our logo as an App Icon to give some inspiration and food for thought:
Lead Icon:
Seasonal & Event Variations:
