Driving Value Added Services & Content|Billing & Engagement In Motion|Minutes, Messages & Traffic That Pays|Engage & Commercialize Connected Consumers|Making Interactive Media Pay|Billing & Alternative Payments That Convert|Mobile Strategies For Merchants & Content Owners|Monetising Premium Content & Services
Evina Header Banner Ad
Digital Select Ltd
Golden Goose
MobileArtsMAIN Ad
MediaXO Main Ad
KanzarooMAIN Ad

7 Things To Consider When Creating a Mobile App Logo

0

Competition for app recognition’s fierce.

In February 2021 alone, over 88.5 thousand apps were released on Google Play Store, and in June 2021, 32.3 thousand through Apple App Store!

Your app to stand out in this crowded marketplace needs to look pretty special regardless of its function.

So, what makes an excellent mobile app design?

An app must be beautiful, simple, eye-catching, scalable, and unique.

And there are other things you need to know about, like color, relevancy, flat design, and gradients.

Creating a recognizable mobile app logo isn’t guesswork; you must follow numerous things to consider and design rules.

What is an app logo?

An app logo is a PNG (portable network graphic) raster-based file format. Made up from fixed pixels ranging from 29×29 to 1024×1024, customized to look great in a square box, representing an app on either the App-store or Google Play.

Ok, but here’s what it really is:

Your app logo is the most valuable piece of digital real estate in the app world. A tiny visual branding element with immense pulling power must reflect the nature of your business and convey the essence of your service to the viewer upon first sight.

Why are app logos so important?

It’s your first opportunity to grab a viewer’s attention and make them open your app. And if you design it right, it can increase downloads by up to 560%!

But it’s also a marketing tool and an additional communication channel with the ability to make you stand out from the competition and strengthen customer loyalty through recognition.

Making the next question even more critical.

What are the things to be considered when you’re on the path to make your own logo?

Let’s find out:

#1 Scalability

Size means everything, and small is beautiful in the app world!

Scalability means how well your logo scales up and down without losing clarity, and as icons are PNG files, scaling doesn’t come naturally.

Your logo must work on numerous devices and formats and different sizes while retaining its legibility. Such as on the App Store, the settings panel, and retina devices.

That’s why you should avoid complicated designs. When you make your logo, try to reduce content to an absolute minimum, often by only using a single letter. At this early stage of your logo design, focus your efforts on reducing your element so it scales while remaining eligible.

Scalability tips:

  • Always test your app logo out and on multiple devices and in numerous sizes and contexts.
  • Whether it’s an Apple product, a brand logo, or your app icon, simplicity is the secret to great design. Learn from the leading corporations; most use a single letter, unique shape, and only two colors.
  • Your app icon must work well with various backgrounds, test, test, and test again.

#2 Industry relevancy

Many app logos within an industry have similarities in shapes or colors.

For example, Facetime and WhatsApp (green and white with a simple descriptive image), Audible and iTunes U (orange and white, with an industry-related image), and LinkedIn and Facebook (blue and white, and minimal lettering).

Why the similar approach?

Because certain colors and shapes work for specific marketplaces and audiences (more on colors in a minute). Look at logos belonging to the leading brands in your industry; odds are you’ll see similarities with the shapes and colors in use.

And your mobile app logo must suit your industry. Reflect your brand’s personality. Convey your intended message to your target audience. And be unique, so you’re instantly recognizable and stand out from your competitors.

A lot to ask of a small simplified image, right?

#3 How to make it unique

So, you must use industry-related colors and shapes and be unique for your app logo to stand any chance of engaging your target audience!

Yes, that’s a contradiction.

However, if you think of it more as a manipulation of the available resources, mimicking your rival brand’s trends and styles while adding (or reducing) a certain Je ne sais quoi.

Uniqueness is a complex art to master and requires much thought and time.

Some tips to help you:

  • Look at everyone else in your market place then go in the opposite direction (risky but worth it).
  • Color is a powerful way of getting noticed; two contrasting colors can create a striking effect.
  • Unusual shapes also catch our attention, or simple ones turned upside down or facing the opposite direction.

#4 Main design detail

When scalability is paramount, space is at a premium, and brand recognition is a must, what do you do?

You create your app logo using a single main design detail, one that’s relative to your brand. It’s all about making your app icon special; it could be the first letter from your brand name, a shape infused with your brand colors, or an attractive and relevant graphical concept.

But never use a full name (most are in the interface anyway), a photograph, or a combination of words and images. And your company logo is also off-limits as it’s not the same thing as an icon; the two aren’t interchangeable.

#5 Color scheme

Choosing your colors needn’t be difficult, but you must get them right.

Designers understand the power and importance of colors. How they connect with our emotions, influence how we feel and act, and determine the viewer’s perception of a logo or brand.

If your brand already has a color palette in use on your website and social media platforms, then use these elements in your icon to help enforce recognition and cohesion. If not, there are specific techniques for finding ones that’ll work.

  • Use two contrasting colors to make your logo pop.
  • Use colors that suit your brand’s individuality and personality.
  • Use colors that characterize your application.
  • Look at your competitor’s colors; can you find an alternative?

If you’re using the App Store, check out Apple’s conditional restrictions and their pre-designed combined color templates to ensure you’re complying with and can compete on their platform. 

#6 Flat design or gradient?

Fashion changes seasonally; style lasts forever.

Flat designs are in fashion with logo and website designers. Everyone’s using them, from bloggers to big corporations, reducing their 3D logos to simple flat designs. BMW and Apple are just two examples. It’s because flat designs are perfect for the digital and physical world, making them highly versatile.

But recently, fashion trends are moving towards adding debt to the flat approach by using gradients. A gradient logo combines (usually) two colors from the same palette or opposing ones. Gradient logos are fantastic for bringing debt and energy to a logo and creating new color schemes, perfect for catching people’s attention.

While gradient logos require more thought and effort than a flat design, your app’s logo style could last forever if you get it right. 

#7 Your brand

Your app logo can’t be a stand-alone visual.

It must be relative to your brand, so the two work harmoniously, ensuring people connect them and creating instant recognition and trust.

When you infuse your brand design elements into your app icon, it gives instant recognition on all platforms. And using similar colors and designs enables viewers to determine the product or service your app provides. Providing them with a good idea of the pain points your app serves to solve and the solution you provide to solve them.

When people can see the benefits and recognize your brand through your app, they’ll be far more likely to download it.

Conclusion

Creating a beautiful, simple, eye-catching, scalable, and unique app logo isn’t beyond your capabilities.

If you use our seven strategies, you can make a mobile app logo that’s recognizable and engaging.

And above all, keep it simple and brand-related.

Share.

Leave A Reply