|
|
Custom Icons For Your Specific Brand
Developing a software application is not easy at all; apart from the effective creation of the application you'll have to think of other things as well, like: making the software easy to work with, giving it a unique and appealing look, making it better than other software, etc. Apart from the qualities of the application, these little things are the ones that promote your software application among the end users. If the application is easy to use, has a friendly user interface, the look of the program is unique yet not too flashy a lot more people will want to have it and use it. On the other hand, we should be careful about the overall look of the entire application because if it looks too different or it is too striking, many of the new users will be reserved in trying it. The reticence might be coming from the fact that, due to the unconventional look, they will think that it is hard to work with this application. Also, the icons of the application must be eye-catching but not too flashy or different from the usual.
In order to have success with your software application it must be different from the others so to have some extra points in front of your competitors. Sometimes, it is not enough to have an application that is working very well because the competition might have the same type of application that has the same characteristics. You have to make your application stand out from the crowd and this can be done very easily. For example, you can make it different by customizing your icons. Using custom icons has many advantages compared with the free icons that can be easily found on the Internet. One of the advantages is the fact that your icons will be different from any other icons found in similar applications. Using free downloaded icons might be tricky because it is possible that somebody else used the same icons and this will not be good for the success of your application. End users might see it as a cheap solution and might refuse to give a fair chance to the software.
Another advantage for using custom icons is that the development process will be completely passed on to the designer of the icons, unless you decide to design them yourself. All you need to do is make the designer understand exactly what you need your icons to look like and how different they must be. Based on those indications the icon designer will produce some sketches that must be approved by you in order to proceed further with the final version of the icons. So, a lot of the work is on designer's account which must have a lot of creativity in order to produce something unique. Involving a designer in the process of creating the icons for your application will save you a lot of precious time and also will reassure you that no other application will have icons like yours, so it will not be possible for end users to confound your software with others.
While you're thinking of making custom icons for your application, take in consideration another idea: to make a custom set of icons. A set of icons contains all the possible icons that you will need for or in connection with an application. It does not matter that you will not need all of them from the beginning, because in time it is possible that you will need some extra icons and it is better to have them handy.
To make your application different from the others you can also use favicons, which is short for "favorite icons" also known as page icons. Basically, these types of icons are the ones that integrate into the other application like for example web-browsers. Often favicons represent the organization's or website's logo. They are used to build a more customized appearance for the respective application. The use of favicons has some advantages: your application will be easily recognized by the users in case they don't remember the application's name, it will promote the logo of the application, it will make your application look more professional, etc. Favicons are usually displayed into the web browsers, next to your website's page and you'll not see many applications or websites that have this facility.
Another thing you can do for making your application stand out of the competition is to have custom file type icons assigned to file types by default. Having these distinct file types is not difficult to achieve but they will make a big difference. The end user will have no problem in easily locating the files of your application among the other files. Besides that, having custom file type icons will be another way of promoting the logo of your application; the larger the number of icons and file type icons is, the larger will be the number of people to see and easily recognize your application.
Considering all the above we have to say that having a customized application is better that having one with a common look. Common looks can be easily confounded and the user will not see the difference between one application or the other unless they will definitely be different. For example, if he has two applications for the same purpose and the applications' icons or file type icons are almost alike, he will choose the first one that he sees. But if one of the applications has a custom, easily recognizable icon he will know as soon as he sees it that this is the application that he's looking for. These are only few tricks that software designers should take in consideration when making an application that has a commercial purpose.
If you are looking for professional icons please go to http://www.iconshock.com - icon design
The Most Important Question To Ask About Your Web Site!
When you design a website how do you start ?
5 Instant Tips for More Online Sales
Even after you've managed to bring traffic to your site you may be losing sales because of problems with your site's usability. What's "usability"?
Free Website Design Tips
In this article I will give a few tips of where to find a low cost web design company and also about the best ways of producing a quality website.
Your Web Site Is A Wonderland: What Picassos Art Taught Me About Persuasive Design
Whenever singer John Mayer sings his romantic song, "Your Body is a Wonderland", I can't help but think of web sites and usability. As a usability consultant, I see the devotion to his lover, and the time he spent uncovering every detail of her being, as the way most web site designers think we approach their web sites. When the lyrics arrive at "Take all your big plans; And break 'em; This is bound to be a while", I start giggling. It makes me think of Amazon.com. I'll explain why.
Your Free Guide To Obtain A Cheap Web Design Quote
Website design is a very competitive area and there is no longer any reason why people should pay large amounts for web design services.
What I Look For In a Website
As my occupation is that of a proofreader, one of the first things I look for in a website is quality copy; to me it's important that the textual content is clear and concise with correct spelling and proper punctuation. Many websites I have looked at have sadly failed to follow this basic rule and the build emphasis has been centred on flashy eye-catching graphics, quite often at the expense of the copy.
10 seconds is all it takes? (How to grab the attention of your audience with your web site)
FACT: 30 to 60% of visitors tend to drop off and click to another site when they are forced to click their mouse more often than necessary.
Ten Tips For Your Web Site Home Page
1. Loading time:
Turn Harmful 404 Error Pages Into Helpful 301 Redirects
It's a fact, Page Not Found, known as a 404 error, can harm your website Ranking with Search Engines as well as being a Turn-Off for Visitors.
Eight Website Pitfalls, and How to Avoid Them
Clutter: Too much noise, too much text, and too little white space mean that customers ignore the content. Customers often scan pages quickly, only reading titles or input prompts until they reach the content they want. Be concise, break text up with headings, not too many fonts and consider the reading level of your audience.
Good Content Pays!
Traffic to a site can be a blessing or a curse. Visitors who find what they are looking for, are engaged in what the site offers, and/or come away with a positive impression become the site owner's best allies and customers. But lead a visitor to believe that they will find what they are looking for and then not provide on your promise and you will find yourself being stabbed in the back repeatedly by people you will never know. As discussed in another article, "What Are the Benefits of Good Design on the Web?" the task of the site owner is not simply to ask all the right questions and make sure the designer interprets the answers correctly. Just as challenging is the need for the correct content-content that is largely dictated by the answers to the same questions so important to good design: Who are the visitors? What are they looking for? What is their situation, are they rushed? Are they knowledgeable? Are they looking for opinions or facts? Are they the kind of prospect the site owner is looking for?
Do You Make These Common (But Deadly) Website Design Mistakes?
Building a website can be overwhelming, here are some design tips to help keep you on the right path (or is that web?)
Affordable Web Design In Birmingham
If you have a business, big or small you may be thinking of getting yourself a website.
Creating Personal Web Sites (Part 2)
This is the second part of a two-part article about creating a web site on the Internet and the tools that you will need to do it.
The Next Marketing Tool: Deisgn
Design sells. It's something that all of us know, but few of us consciously acknowledge. There is an age old adage that warns people not to "judge books by their cover." In other words, we shouldn't judge people or products by their appearance. But this isn't true in America. We do judge books by their cover ? in fact we spend billions of dollars on products that have prettier "covers."
Got Web Traffic but Still Low Sales? Ten Ways to Selling Success - Part 1
Have you put a lot of effort, time, and money into your site and are frustrated with lackluster sales? Are you planning to put a new Web site and don't know where to start?
Fast Web Design For The Skint Webmaster
About two years ago, I had a go at commercial web site design. I put a medium-sized ad in a London classified ad paper. Nothing fancy: "Web designer seeks work ..." etc. This was expensive, about £500 for a month's run.
Create Favorite Icon
Favorite icon appears to the left of your link in either address bar or in favorites menu of your browser. It gives your website more personality, better visibility in favorites menu and is easy to create.
How to Make Effective Use of Web Fonts
Writing for your web site is not the same as offline writing. The fonts used for print media are different than web fonts. This is because it's harder to read text on a computer screen and visitors tend to scan your web pages rather than read them word for word. When deciding on what web font to use, take into consideration the character of your site and whether the web font type is widely available (accomodates different screens and operating systems).
Is Your Website?s Copy Up to the Mark?
The Internet is a relatively new medium. What works for you in your printed offline brochures and advertising materials may or may not work on your web page. If you have already invested either time or money or both in your website you should carefully scrutinize the written words on your pages to see if they can really deliver a return on your investment. Here are five important questions to ask to when making a review of your website's copy.