Games worth discovering
THE APP ICON IS NOT ART - IT IS PSYCHOLOGY
18 View2025-11-16Most indie devs try to make icons that “look cool.”
I did the same for years, and it cost us thousands of downloads over time.
The app icon has one purpose, and one purpose only:
Trigger enough emotions so that the player clicks your listing.
Here is a few things I learned about creating the perfect app icon:
1. Bright colors win
Your App Icon competes with thousands of others, stronger colors will make your icon stick out.
2. Angry or Sad faces convert better than happy ones.
This is something I actually learned from YouTube Thumbnail theory. In my old company we boosted visitors by 24% by JUST going from Happy -> Sad face.
3. Simplicity beats details
The icon is so small so it is important that the icon isn't too cluttered.
For Monkey King: Legend of Heroes, we first used a clean blue icon with our main character(see the image)
Then we swapped it for a bright red icon with an angry Monkey King…
Store listing visitors increased by 109% in one week.
It is quite simple: your app icon is not a decoration.
It is an emotional trigger that decides if someone will visit your store page or not.
I did the same for years, and it cost us thousands of downloads over time.
The app icon has one purpose, and one purpose only:
Trigger enough emotions so that the player clicks your listing.
Here is a few things I learned about creating the perfect app icon:
1. Bright colors win
Your App Icon competes with thousands of others, stronger colors will make your icon stick out.
2. Angry or Sad faces convert better than happy ones.
This is something I actually learned from YouTube Thumbnail theory. In my old company we boosted visitors by 24% by JUST going from Happy -> Sad face.
3. Simplicity beats details
The icon is so small so it is important that the icon isn't too cluttered.
For Monkey King: Legend of Heroes, we first used a clean blue icon with our main character(see the image)
Then we swapped it for a bright red icon with an angry Monkey King…
Store listing visitors increased by 109% in one week.
It is quite simple: your app icon is not a decoration.
It is an emotional trigger that decides if someone will visit your store page or not.
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