If you have an application or software which has been in use for a number of years or was recently designed but with rather not-very-impressive icons in use, maybe it’s time for a refresh. A complete icon redesign can provide an opportunity not only to freshen up your image, but it can give a new lease of life to your product.
A key to thriving in industry today, as in many other areas of life, is constant and never ending improvement. This is one of the reasons why even a market leader like Microsoft keeps coming up with new versions of Windows and their other programs every so often. They do take the chance to not only improve the performance of the programs, but also to keep modernising and freshening their look.
The modern world is fast changing and companies that don’t improve fast enough or take opportunities to re-think and enhance their strategies, brands and operations can be quickly left behind. The impact on market share and profit can be substantial.
So if you have that niggling feeling that your product or application could do with an upgrade or refresh, it may be the right time to seize the opportunity to go for an icon redesign as a key element of product improvement.
A fresh look
Perhaps your product could do with a fresh look. The users of your program are most likely also using iPhones, digital cameras, Facebook and a host of other digital equipment and internet websites that expose them to icons of all sorts all the time. Instinctively, they come to expect quality and finesse.
Strengthen and consolidate your brand
You can take the opportunity to strengthen your brand when going for an icon makeover or redesign. You may want to enhance the unique features of your brand or product, or highlight something that has now become more relevant than in earlier versions.
Harmonise your products
This can be part of your brand strengthening strategy. If your company or organisation has a range of products of diverse identities, this may be an opportunity to bring them all within a family look.
Enhance functionality and user-friendliness
Almost inevitably as you use a program, you discover bugs that could be fixed, possible confusions regarding navigation, etc. There may be some icons and functions to be put in proper sequence or their clarity enhanced. Icon clarity is an important part of insuring ease of use.
Taking the time to re-think your brand is not about keeping up with the Joneses; it’s about keeping up with the times in a practical and functional way – to ensure that you keep your competitive edge and ultimately serve your customers better.
