Icon Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

Extract App Resource Icons with AppleScript

by Ben Waldie (Apr 22nd, 2013)

Whether I'm preparing for a demo or writing an article, blog post, book, or technical documentation, I often find myself performing the same set of repetitive steps. I need to navigate into an app's packaged resources folder, find one or more icon files, occasionally convert them to PNG and scale ...

Cygnett's ICON case contains the story behind the artists and art

by Mike Schramm (Jan 14th, 2013)

Perusing the many, many iPhone cases on display at CES is always a daunting proposition: Not only does every case manufacturer appear at the show with hundreds if not thousands of cases to show off, but even when all of the cases on display are finally out on store shelves, customers tend to ...

Preparing high-res icon files with Automator

by Ben Waldie (Dec 31st, 2012)

This week's post is for all those Mac app developers out there. If you're not an app developer yet, it's a new year, and I'm sure becoming an app developer is at at the top of your resolution list. In any case, if you plan to develop apps, then you need to prepare icons for those apps. Apple ...

Breaking down the App Store's new layout

by Mike Schramm (Oct 1st, 2012)

iOS developer Justine Pratt (who's created a series of utility apps for iPhone and iPad) has put together a nice, long analysis from the developer perspective of what the new App Store design can do for apps. Apple recently revamped the App Store on iOS devices, introducing several changes that ...

MySpace keeps Apple from Music app icon trademark

by Mike Schramm (Sep 26th, 2012)

Apple's trying to file paperwork to nail down a trademark on its Music app icon, but the trademark is being blocked by a pretty unlikely source: MySpace. And it's not even related to the recent reinvention of the second-place social network, either. Back in 2008, a music service called iLike ...

Mac App Store now requires a 1024x1024 app icon

by Mike Schramm (Jul 18th, 2012)

Developer Daniel Jalkut notes that the latest requirements for the Mac App Store include an app icon that's at least 1024x1024 pixels, which is extraordinarily huge. To put that in perspective, each and every submission to the Mac App Store going forward needs to include an icon that's bigger ...

No Comment: iOS 6 Maps icon not to be taken as literal routing advice

by Michael Rose (Jun 18th, 2012)

Maybe someone in Apple's new mapping department is a fan of the automotive antics featured on The Dukes of Hazzard. As tweeted this weekend by James Mountain and featured on the financial site Minyanville, the new icon for the Maps app in iOS 6 features a slight change to emphasize the ...

iCloud prompts a look back at "cloud" icons

by Kelly Hodgkins (Oct 17th, 2011)

Apple introduced iCloud earlier this year, and its announcement kicked off a renewed interest in the iconic cloud logo. Articles espousing the icon's Golden Ratio-based design and Apple's attention to detail followed shortly. Though Apple undoubtedly chose this icon for its precision design, ...

Hex introduces new Icon watch bands for the iPod nano

by Mike Schramm (Oct 7th, 2011)

With the addition of sixteen new clock faces, Apple pretty much put its official stamp on the idea of an iPod nano watch. Hex is ready to take advantage of the hype. The company has released a watch band for the nano called the Icon watch band (US$40), which gives you a polycarbonate way to ...

No Comment: Washington State borrows Bodega's icon, with a tweak

by Mike Schramm (Jul 16th, 2011)

Eagle-eyed reader Jeff spotted this icon in use over on the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries website, and it looked a little familiar to him, as a user of a certain unofficial Mac App Store app that has been around even before Apple's software distribution solution. Minus the ...

Apple granted a trademark for the word 280

by Kelly Hodgkins (Jul 6th, 2011)

Apple received a trademark for the word 280 and the icon for its iOS navigation app. The trademark application was filed in April 2010 and granted on June 28, 2011. "280", for those who are wondering, refers to Route 280 which runs next to Apple's campus at One Infinite Loop in Cupertino. The ...

The iCloud logo and the golden ratio

by Dave Caolo (Jun 24th, 2011)

Apple's commitment to thoughtful design is legendary, and here's another example. The iCloud logo uses the golden ratio. In short, the golden ratio is an irrational mathematical constant that often occurs in nature. When applied to design, the results are considered aesthetically pleasing. ...

No Comment: Windows Phone Dictionary app icon seems eerily familiar

by Michael Rose (Jun 20th, 2011)

Who really thinks about designing a dictionary icon? They all look alike, after all, so what would be the point of creating a brand new one for your Windows Phone third-party app? Better just to pick up the one everyone likes so well and use that. Yes, as Craig Hockenberry pointed out this ...

Apple patent offers peek at E-Wallet icon... or does it?

by Steven Sande (Feb 22nd, 2011)

Patently Apple is running another of its excellent, exhaustively detailed listings of Apple's recently awarded patents. In the description of one of the awards, the site pointed out what they believe is an icon for an "E-Wallet" app, possibly pertaining to a Near Field Communications (NFC)-based ...

Artist creates real-life home icon

by Mike Schramm (Nov 3rd, 2010)

Artist Johannes P. Osterhoff (whom you may remember from his paintings using OS X elements) has been reusing Apple's interface elements again. His latest project is a real-life construction of the Home icon from OS X, which he's made into a wearable display. The doors and shutters are actually ...