Every application development company wants its products to be recognizable, unique, and popular in all the app stores. However, here comes a great challenge, as the mobile app market is tremendous. As of the 3rd quarter of 2019, there are 5.5 Million apps on the four largest app stores, i.e., Google Play, App Store, Windows Store, and Amazon Appstore. These statistics can be intimidating and challenging for any business that wants to enter the market with a brand new application.
We interact with some apps daily, but have you ever wondered about how we pick the application to use? What creates the first impression about the product, and what recognizable asset every app we use has? The app logo is the element that makes the initial impression. After spending a matter of seconds looking at the logo, users decide whether or not they like it, understand its primary purpose, and want to download and know more about the functionality.
Mobile phones are quite sacred in this age, and there’s a race for customers’ attention and loyalty on the mobile app market. Since you’re reading this, you’re probably thinking of how to come up with a successful app logo to stand out from the crowd and hit the hearts of your target audience. Here are a few tips on how to create a great app logo for your product.
Tip #1. Think About the Concept before Starting with Design
If you concentrate on random details from the beginning without having a general concept of the design, you will most likely create an irrelevant and flashy design. It is crucial to start with defining the main functions of the app, keeping in mind the core principles of the company. Also, you need to think about the associations that users would have with the product.
At this stage, you need to understand the main requirements, brainstorm ideas, and see the overall pattern of the project. Questions to ask at this step include what the target market is, what the goal of the project is, and, most importantly, what problem the app is projected to solve.
Tip #2. Make Use of a Moodboard
You need to visualize your ideas not only in your head but on paper to see all the options created so far and pick the most viable ones. Thus, you need to draw these ideas from concept to at least a wireframe that can be translated to a 2D vector.
An excellent idea would be to create a moodboard, where you can add different pictures for inspiration, play around with color palettes and shapes, and so on. You can draw inspiration from such resources like Shutterstock, Pinterest, Behance, Canva, check out what’s popular on Google in your niche, and see what people tend to like. Such a moodboard will ensure a good start as you work through the project brief.
Tip #3. Compare Your Ideas with Competitor Products
It is also important to compare your visualized ideas with the app logos of competitors. Your final image should fit into the category yet stand out from other businesses.
Tip #4. No Camera Photos
If you’re designing an app logo, don’t use camera pictures or other photo-realistic renderings for your app image. The logo must be simple and recognizable. Colorful photos will rather make logos messy and irrelevant than add uniqueness to the application look.
Tip #5. Keep It Simple
It is essential to remember that the app logo is displayed pretty small on mobile devices. Thus, it is important to make the logo simple and pleasing to the eye. Adding many details to such a small image will make it messy and blurry, and users won’t be able to see what you wanted to highlight on the logo.
Paying attention to the typography is also crucial for the app logo creation. There’s no need to try to insert the full name of the application on the logo because the name will be displayed under the app on all mobile devices anyway. Instead, you can make the use of some letters, combined colors, gradient, or perspective effect.
You can make a great impression with a simple design. When creating the app logo, make sure to work with scalable vectors so that the final design could be adapted to any OS interface easily.
Tip #6. Create App Logos for Different Mobile Devices
Just because the created app logo looks good on your phone doesn’t mean it will be displayed correctly on all the app stores and mobile devices. Therefore, you need to be familiar with app logo design guidelines of every mobile OS you plan to launch your application on, as well as the specifics of cross-platform app adaptation. These guidelines shed light on issues such as size, form, texture, and general user interface requirements.
Although it may sound obvious, it is essential to use the same app logo for different platforms. For instance, your application should look identical both on iOS and Android devices to become recognizable among users.
Scalable vectors will allow you to change the size of your app logo and crop it according to the requirements without compromising on the quality and resolution of the image. If you don’t overload your logo with details, it won’t be a problem to crop it for each mobile OS. Also, you can add some unique frames to the final app images for each platform, but make sure not to cover the main image with too thick borders.
Tip #7. Crowd-Test You Logo before Launching the App
Although you may love the final design, it doesn’t necessarily mean that everybody else will, too. Thus, besides analyzing the target audience before starting to create the app logo, you need to test the final logo variants on a group of target demographics. If you don’t have a budget for the crowd-testing, you can ask your friends about their thoughts on the created logo.
Instead of creating the only design, try different color palettes and logos and test them on a group of unbiased friends or a target group online/offline. Remember also to check what app logos your competitors have, and how your design looks among the applications of the same category. You can not only show your app logo but also place it in a row with the competitors’ design, ask the focus group to pick the most appealing image and explain their choices.
An important aspect to keep in mind is that although the app will be displayed with a light background on the app stores, users may have different wallpapers and themes on their devices. Thus, it would be a smart move to check how your app logo design looks with some bright and dark backgrounds.
There’s nothing wrong with correcting or changing the design based on users’ responses, as, in the end, you make the application for them. It is much better to make some corrections based on the feedback of the target group than launch the application and understand that users don’t like your fantastic app logo.
Tip #8. Business Struggles: DIY Vs. Hiring a Designer
Just as developing a mobile app requires specific skills and expertise, so is creating a logo that will make the application attractive and memorable for users. If you are a business owner who needs a recognizable and appealing app logo for your product, it is essential to check out what competitors offer and define the distinctive features of your project. Thus, you will eventually come up with the ideas regarding the image that will reflect the purpose of the app and the impression you want to create.
However, if you develop a mobile app for desktop software, and the app design differs from the initial one significantly, people may get it wrong and don’t tell if the application is from the same company. Thus, the logo you create should be instantly recognizable as part of the project, and you need to merge the design concept with the brand’s identity.
The task of the business owner is to provide as much information regarding the upcoming app as possible. In return, the job of the designer is to use the provided insights to create the best design. There are many options on the web you can utilize to build the app logo by yourself, but turning to an expert designer will help you to see your project from a new perspective and come up with some unique ideas.
Final Remarks on Creating a Great App Logo
It is important to understand that creativity takes time, and a successful app logo can’t be created in a day. However, it is not impossible, and with a detailed analysis and dedication, you can come up with a perfect application logo for your product. By keeping these recommendations in mind, you can create a simple yet appealing design that will present your app and appeal to users to download your product.
About the Author!
Anzhela Sychyk is a Market Researcher and Technical Writer at TheAppSolutions. She like to learn new things about modern technologies and share knowledge through value-added content, helping entrepreneurs build businesses in a more effective way.
nice tips on logo design , like your article. I visit this company site with great and simple logo.
meal-kit delivery service by Dai Software