Sep 6, 2013
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Lifehacker has a post on Around Sound for Android!
The Evolution of the Around Sound Icon Design
I figure people might be interested in how I went about creating an icon for the first time.
I had a rough idea of what I wanted. I had sketched it out on my Galaxy Note, finally using the stylus for something. The original drawing got lost during one of my ROM flashes. So I can't show you the original. Doh.
My App's Description Like most things I don't know how to do.. first thing I did was consult the Internet. I debated about using a more polished piece of software like Pixelmator for OSX but after seeing the plethora of tutorials for GIMP and the results achievable, I settled on using it. When I do the next app, I'll probably use Inkscape since it's vector based. Better for scaling. So here's the progression:
It started out with this tutorial on how to make a sunken metal looking icon. Mine didn't turn out so great. It was too plain. I really wanted an icon that would look good on someone's phone. So.. I added some color. I tried to give the arrow some depth and made it red to stand out more. One of the big challenges is the size of an icon. You have to be careful with working on detail that will never be seen once it's shrunk down to 72x72 pixels and on a phone. Then I decided on the circular border and then gave it a drop shadow. <-- very useful and popular effect! The yellow was easy to see but kind of boring. So I started trying all the different filter effects available in GIMP. I settled on the supernova effect you see in the background. And the last tweak was on the arrow. Boom. Done. Before this I was pretty much just a Paint person. I had fiddled with Photoshop back in the day but never did anything fancier than play with the stamp tool. Youtube is your friend. It is amazing what you can do after just watching a couple of the tutorials available. Decent graphic assets for your app are not so hard. There's no excuse for a crappy icon.
The process is very evolutionary. Keep tweaking it and trying different things. Don't expect to get it right the first time. Keep playing.
Remember your icon is the your biggest marketing tool. People like things that look good. Good luck and shoot me some questions if you have any.
Around Sound Android App
Here's what I've been working on:
*For Android phones* Around Sound (Link to the Android Market)
Description: It is an app that detects loud noises around you while you are enjoying your music with your headphones.
No longer miss sounds of: 1) Your dog barking at something 2) Someone trying to get your attention3) A car honking at you 4) Announcements at an airport5) A door closing 6) Your child dropping something 7) Etc...
Nice headphones these days are like earplugs. When using them you become almost oblivious to what's going on around you.. but no more! ;) Check it out, it's FREE Link to the Android Market