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[sAm_vdP]

Hi everyone,

I'm currently building a gravity-based action puzzler for mobile. I'm trying to achieve a clean, appealing, minimalist style for the game. It looks like this:


Now I was told my original placeholder appstore icon wasn't cutting it:



I am now toying with some similar ideas and I would love to hear which one you like best and what you would change:

#1	#2	#3	#4	#5	#6

I will keep my own opinion to myself for now, so as not to bias you

I am very much looking forward to your input, thanks and best regards,
Bart

[Zorg]

You are using the same colors, but you are inventing new elements which are not in the game. So, none of your icons really reflects the game, in my eyes. The rings are a nice direction, because they look like orbits. But they are not dotted, like in the game. I think you should build the icon purely of game elements. Quick example:

[sAm_vdP]

Thank you for the idea! I agree that the icon doesn't really reflect the game. I tried building one that represented the game in a very literal way, but that felt really cluttered in the small space of the icon.

I like the idea of restricting myself to game elements without actually rebuilding the game, I'll see if I can mock something up.

Thanks!

[oahda]

Unless they've changed the rules, your icon has to be square AFAIK, so that the OS can round the edges to make all apps have consistent icons.

Still seems like it, but I may be wrong.

Keep icon corners square. The system applies a mask that rounds icon corners automatically.

[sAm_vdP]

Yeah, I'd need to add a white background on iOS. Android has no such restrictions.

[oahda]

If you go for #1 at least personally I'd just extend the stripes into the rest of the square canvas instead of adding white around the circle in that case, but maybe it works. c:

Anyway, I prefer #1 and #2. The rest seem a bit too messy.

[Vasburg]

I'd probably go for #1 or #2, but Zorg has already shed some really good critique on why a different approach might be interesting.

I wouldn't exactly agree that you have to use already exciting designs from the game (although that helps recognizing the app), however, I find you should treat it a bit like an elevator pitch. For example, #3 to #6 really look cool, but I wonder why you need these additional design elements. If you could design the icon around the gameplay mechanic (I know that this is a bit trickier than a photo app) and let your potential users know what it is about - even before they see the content - you're already on the right path, in my opinion.

[oahda]

Oops, missed Zorg's point until now. That's a good one. For a square icon the background becomes obvious too.

[sAm_vdP]

I made a new batch, following Zorg's excellent advice (mostly ). I'm kind of fond of the colorful striped circle design, so I kept that for now, but added a representation of "orbits":

#7	#8	#9	#10	#11	#12

As before, I'm very grateful for your advice and feedback.

[KylaFiresmile]

I like #8 most. On the one hand the black color balances the icon and the icon doesn't look too colorful, on the other hand the black color in #8 doesn't jumps out at you as in #10 and #11. Hope you understand my crappy English 

[sAm_vdP]

Thank you for your input and your English is completely fine of course! I agree that the black in 10 and 11 is a bit too much contrast.