Ask HN: How to design app shortcut icons for iphone/android etc?

2 pointscodedivine1 comment

Many of you must have written and distributed apps on iphones, android, plain old desktops etc. I wanted to make an icon (say 256x256) for the app shortcut and am having two problems:

1. I don't want to accidentally make an icon that is too similar to some brand and get sued. 2. I am no artist.

How do you solve these two problems? What are the tools/software that you use to make icons?

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Apple's app store requires a 512x512 so you may be better off starting big and tweaking where needed as you shrink it (less so for simple vector-y stuff).

1. Short of checking out every icon out there, there's not a whole lot you can do to ensure this. Also, I'm not sure how common it is for people to just sue hard over an icon without at least sending a letter of varying politeness.

2. Keep it simple. An artistic squiggle in a circle. Some coloured dots. A couple of wavy lines. Or chuck a few coins to a designer friend to do you something simple.

Toolwise, I use Photoshop, though any half-decent graphics app can do it.

Don't add the rounded corners or shine for Apple submission though - they do that for you (or you can deactivate). Some templates are pre-rounded and come out a little weird.

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