The success of nearly everything on the online realm hinges heavily on how well an impression it makes with the user, whether they are ads, logos, banners or even the UI/UX interface of websites. Marketers use the word “Impressions” to gauge the number of visits each webpage had instead of referring them to as just plain “visits” because they strive to create an impact on the user, which in turn will drive the success in viewership or conversions based on how good the impression was. But that’s all about websites and the desktop front, the question therefore is, Are Apps different in catering to the word impression or are they the same?
Apps definitely are different, as making a great impression when one talks of the app domain is more important, because its not just down to opening a web page and seeing what they offer like its done on the conventional front, but its one where you have to make the user pass through the main barrier, i.e. download the app, to have them view any of the things you have on offer there.
You have a great app idea, you get down to building it, you create the perfect interface and make the app function in a way that each user will feel that the app adapted and got personalized based on the preferences. You even had great App store Optimization with all the more relevant keywords and great screenshots and an awesome description to go with it. Are you forgetting something? Is all done? No its isn’t.
The App icon is probably the most important part of the whole app domain as this is where the make or break moment happens. Apps are restricted when it comes to space and only a small title along with a short description can be made available on the app’s listing in the App store. The App Icon or the App logo is what will stand to engage the user more than anything else as in this restricted world where everything is constricted for space, Only the App icon remains the place where the app can show off what it contains inside.
Succinctly describing or personifying what the user will experience once it downloads the app, the App icon is an increasingly important facet of an App.
App stores are becoming crowded by the day, with hundreds of apps plying for user attention in each category every single day, which makes the issue of making your app stand out in this overly crowded space even more important. But the main problem arises where app developers or development companies fail to grasp the idea that investing in a good logo design or a corporate logo design to feature as their App icon will bring in good results and what is exactly a great design that would work wonders for the App.
Taking a look at most of the highly successful apps that feature on App stores like Snapchat or Pokemon Go, their App icons have become instantly recognizable and no matter how many similar apps spring up that offer the same, if not better experience, the user will be drawn to the ones whose Icons are more popular as it signifies the trust and quality of experience that these apps offer.
When it comes to app development companies, the Icons are not part of the more important milestones to cover during the app development journey. It may be a point on the agenda list but its importance is just much as for the app itself.
However, to get it straight, expecting the kind of logos that you would normally deem good for a website or a desktop version of an e-commerce store will not do the job here in the same manner because mobile is an entirely different world with its own criteria for design, scalability, user preferences, and more importantly, a perfectly crafted logo. If the user passes through an app whose Icon is too large or on the face, the screen of the mobile would make this sort of an icon turn off the user, who will pass on and move to the next app.
What constitutes a good design for a logo is a separate read but the first thing that developers should understand is its increasing importance and relevancy in the app world. Google is developing a mobile-centric indexing system which implies that how much apps will serve to dominate the future of online companies and their subsequent viability.
Coming up with something the reverberates with the masses on the app stores should be the main agenda for app developers when it comes to designing an App icon and not just make it a cheap rip-off of the prevailing trends like following Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn’s lead and asking for the background of the app icon to be bluish. What worked for others might not work for you, keep striving for something different but without compromising on the importance and investment that you App Icon might require to make your app stand the best chance of having a great start and a sustainable following.
