About apps and icons

Good developers know that the most important thing is the icon. A popular scenario - the icon is just fucking awesome while the app itself is a piece of shit. The opposite scenario occurs much less frequently, but still can be found.

Learn: if the icon is shitty, the app is probably shitty as well.

What a good icon should be?

 1. Understandability. An icon is not a painting. At the first sight it must be clear WHAT is depicted. Minimum of objects is necessary.

"Green horror":

 2. Whatever is depicted on the icon should have at least some connection to what the app does. In other words, to illustrate the main function. This folded sheet of paper doesn’t stand for an origami app since it is the icon of a cartographical app called Maplets. The divergent rays on the background apparently symbolize the flash of inspiration.

3. Resolution, sharpness and specification. A blurry icon is the shittiest icon possible. On the 4th iPhone’s display this icon looks like a piece of the screen of iPhone 3. This is a rare example of a nifty and popular app with a lame icon.

Apple has the most badass icons. No wonder, after all. This is the best one.

And this is Instagram. A half a million of bucks Facebook paid for this app they gave for the icon. That's how awesome it is!